The Fifth Champion
by chris400ad
Summary: The Triwizard Tournament has come to Hogwarts, champions have been selected but what happens when a fifth name comes out of the Goblet of Fire? A name that will tear down the barriers between the Wizarding World and Sorcerers. Valkyrie Cain. Now Valkyrie must journey to Hogwarts, compete in a life-threatening and she's even allowed to hit anyone. What could go wrong? Spoilers.
1. Prologue

Prologue

_Little Hangleton was a quiet town, nothing ever happened, at least not until that night. The night of that an insignificant mortal was killed, murdered. The man with the golden eyes had seen the old fool enter the Riddle House and knew that he would not come out again. Killers were nothing if not predictable. That was what he was relying on. For the plan to work he needed to appeal to Voldemort's lust for power and he knew just what appeal to that lust._

_The house was musty and had long since been abandoned but the man could sense the violence. He could feel the pain, the stench of fear and aguish that eclipsed the reek of decay. But there was something more recent, a surge of power from when the old man had been killed. He smiled. Power was what he needed. He made his way through the dark hall which was lit only by the moonlight that shone through the mullioned windows either side of the huge front door._

_He followed the footsteps in the dust up a huge flight of stairs, voices echoed through the old house and when he reached the landing the man discovered their source. Down a long passageway a door stood open, revealing an armchair that had been turned to face the window. The room was lit by the flickering amber light of a fire. The man watched as only moving occupant of the room pushed the chair closer to the fire place. Pettigrew. He watched as Pettigrew drew back from the chair, his voice fearful as he talked to its only occupant the creature, for he could not be called a man, who was his master._

_Lord Voldemort._

_The man stepped forward almost disappointed. This had been too easy, far easier than he had been expecting. But he had to make allowances, after all, he wasn't even a man but soon, soon he would be and that was who the man with the golden eyes needed. Voldemort would be relying on his idiot servant to do his bidding for now, allowances certainly needed to be made._

_He heard the giant snake, which lay on the hearth in front of the fire, hiss as he crossed the threshold. Pettigrew whirled, or at least turned as fast as his fat body allowed him to, the man arched an eyebrow._

_"If I was here to kill you," he said unperturbed by the wand that Pettigrew was trying to threaten him with. "I would have done so. I am here on business. I have proposition for your master."_

_"A proposition?" Voldemort's voice lost some of its chill, shock creeping in. If he had been any less of a man he would have smirked at how easily he had thrown the supposed Dark Lord. As it was he remained still, eyeing the wand that Pettigrew still insisted on keeping levelled at his face. "Leave us, Wormtail."_

_"But, My Lord -"_

_"Silence!" Voldemort hissed, his voice deadly quiet, his fury was almost palable. "Leave us, Wormtail or Nagini will be feasting twice tonight."_

_Pettigrew whimpered and scurried out of the room without a backward glance, Nagini hissed, unfurling on the hearth. Voldemort waited before speaking, letting the silence drag out between them, creating the illusion that he had the power. The truth was the man could kill him in an eye blink, without a body he was less than useless. But he remained still, years of planning had taught him patience, Voldemort may be nothing now but soon he would have a power far greater than most sorcerers could dream of._

_"What is it you propose, Sorcerer?"_

_"There are people that I need to be dealt with." The man said, deciding not mention Voldemort's more than vast knowledge, barely any wizards knew about mages, about the Sanctuary, but Voldemort was not an average wizard. "In return I will give you the most powerful ally you have ever had. In my world she is prophesied to destroy the world. With her by your side you cannot fail."_

_"Who is she?"_

_"Darquesse." The man answered simply. It had taken a lot of searching, months had turned into years but he had found her. Argeddion. If it had not been for his Summer of Light the man doubted he would have found her. Before he only had vague descriptions of her, a girl with dark hair who had torn O'Connell Street apart and everything the Sensitive's had seen. But when Cain and Pleasant had stopped Argeddion everything that they had done to those children, it was beyond even the Skeleton Detective's ruthlessness. He had witnesses who had seen a girl fly through the Sanctuary's roof, a girl not too dissimilar to Cain. Cain didn't have that power but Darquesse did. Doctor Nye had confirmed it, after much persuasion. Cain was Darquesse. "I will tell you how to get to her. There is, however, one condition."_

_"Only one?"_

_"One." The man confirmed, this time letting the smile pull at his lips as he withdrew the file that he had long ago intended for the Warlocks. "Kill Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain."_


	2. The Fifth Champion

Chapter One: The Fifth Champion

Valkyrie Cain hadn't wanted to let her reflection take over for so long, seven months, it had never gone for that long before. It might be more convincing than ever but that didn't mean she liked the idea of not seeing her folks for seven months. Seven months without baby Alice. Nine months. It was a long time, too long, but Valkyrie didn't have a choice. It was something that she just could not avoid, no matter how hard she tried. She had even suggested sending it in her place but Skulduggery had shot that idea down, saying that she would need her magic to survive.

Because that didn't sound ominous.

Nobody was quite sure how it had happened, Skulduggery had pulled every agent he could to look into it, but somehow Valkyrie had been entered for a Tournament held at a school, a magical school. A school for witches and wizards, who Skulduggery had explained were not sorcerers or mages. Somehow their magic had evolved, changed. Instead of being powered by a name their power was low-level and could only be harnessed by a wand.

Valkyrie wasn't looking forward to competing in the Tournament. People had died. Champions, the ones who competed, had been killed trying to be victorious. It was stupid. No amount of glory was worth risking your life for. She might risk her life on an almost daily basis but that was different, it wasn't for a stupid competition that was her job. A job she wouldn't have for seven months. God, she'd be bored.

She picked up her bag with a sigh and made her way to the Bentley which was parked not too far away from her home. She had packed everything she would need, spare clothes, toothbrush, hairbrush and her protective clothes that Ghastly had made for her. Almost everything in her case she didn't own, mainly because Skulduggery had told her that her folks might notice if something went missing. Better not take that risk.

He got out when she approached, wearing an exquisitely tailored dark blue suit with a crisp white shirt and matching tie and a smile on his face. Even though he had had the facade for years now she still preferred him without it. It was weird seeing him with ears.

"Ready to go?" Skulduggery asked as he opened the boot of the Bentley and stood aside for her to put her case in.

"Yeah," Valkyrie said with a sigh glancing back at her house. She had said her goodbyes, as she had to do far too many times before, kissed her sister and gone up to bed knowing that she wouldn't see her parents for another seven months. She threw her case in next to his, the one good thing about all this was that she wouldn't be saying goodbye to Skulduggery. He was under strict instructions to return if needed and not to hit anyone unless absolutely necessary, Ravel had been clear on that. "I just wish I didn't have to go."

"I know, Valkyrie," Skulduggery said, closing the boot. "When we find who did this I promise you can hit him first."

"At least that's something to look forward to," Valkyrie said with a grin before sliding into the Bentley. It had been agreed that the Bentley would remain at Skulduggery's house, after it had been picked up from the airport by Ghastly who was the only one Skulduggery trusted enough to drive the Bentley. Ravel had complained that he could do it but Mist had refused to even consider the idea, after all, he was Grand Mage.

The journey to Hogwarts was long, far too long but at least she didn't have to go by the ferry. The Irish Sea would have been more than a little rough at this time of year and she didn't like the idea of battling seasickness for hours. The plane ride passed quickly but only because she had slept through it all, prodded awake by Skulduggery when they landed in England. After having her passport checked yet again by a woman who looked like she had last had job satisfaction thirty years before they were finally able to leave the airport. But it was the car journey at the other end that took the longest. Hogwarts was, apparently, unplottable and couldn't be seen on any map. Skulduggery had been given directions by Ghastly when they had met him at the airport and after what felt like an eternity they arrived.

Whatever Valkyrie had been expecting it wasn't this. When Skulduggery had told her it was a school she had been expecting something similar to her own school but this was...

"A castle? Seriously?" Valkyrie asked as she and Skulduggery got out of the car he had hired which mercifully hadn't been Canary Yellow. "Do you think these guys know how cliché that is?"

Skulduggery chuckled as he retrieved their bags. "Some people have no imagination."

Ghastly had told them not worry about the hire car that the Hogwart's staff would see that it got returned, so Valkyrie followed Skulduggery to the iron gates where a man in black stood waiting for them. He reminded Valkyrie of the more devout Necromancers she had seen at the Temple. In fact, any Necromancer that hadn't been Wreath who always wore finely tailored black suits.

"Miss Cain," the man said his voice void of any hospitality or warmth. Valkyrie lost her smile and glared. "Detective Pleasant. You're late."

"Supposedly," Skulduggery said a smile in his voice.

The man glowered at Skulduggery with a hatred that seemed far too practised to be healthy. "This way, Detectives."

With that he flicked his wand and the iron gates sprung open before he turned and walked away down the winding path without even waiting for a reply. Valkyrie's glower intensified as she followed the man, muttering insults under her breath much to Skulduggery's amusement. The castle was huge, the windows glittering in the darkness. Valkyrie had to admit that it was impressive, far better than the Sanctuary, but it wasn't exactly unassuming. If this castle sat in the middle of Roarhaven someone might notice.

"Why don't you take me to places like this more often?" Valkyrie asked as they entered the vast Entrance Hall. It was huge, she could fit her house inside it more than a few times comfortably. The hall itself was breath-taking though Valkyrie wasn't about to admit it in front of the greasy-haired man. She wondered idly if he had ever even heard the word soap. A bath, shower, even a wash in a stream would improve that hair. "Somewhere nice, it's been ages since we've been anywhere nice."

"I took you to Crowe Park" Skulduggery protested.

"To disarm a bomb that could kill hundreds of thousands of people," Valkyrie retorted as they climbed a flight of stairs of the Entrance Hall that led to the upper floors. "Then we got shot at and I was attacked by a vampire. What part of that was 'nice'?"

"Okay, it wasn't nice."

"See, we never go anywhere like this. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to put me off."

"It would have worked on anybody else," Skulduggery muttered.

"But I'm not," Valkyire grinned. "And that's why you love me."

Skulduggery merely huffed good-naturedly and Valkyrie felt her grin grow even wider as they continued to climb. Her grin, however, was short-lived. They were climbing for what felt like hours. Staircase after staircase, long empty hallway after long empty hallway. Valkyrie was sure she was being led in a circle. She could have sworn she'd see more than one painting twice, though the little figures all seemed to look alike. She was about to object, the muscles in her legs aching even with all her training, when they stopped outside a statue of a very large, very ugly gargoyle. It looked as though it had been stolen

"Cockroach Cluster," the man said to the statue. Valkyrie desperately trying not to laugh at the ridiculous password, even Skulduggery tilted his head slightly. He was smiling. The gargoyle leapt aside and Valkyrie was forcibly reminded of the waxwork Phil Lynott. Though, he never responded to such stupid passwords. Cockroach Cluster?

The man led them up a revolving spiral staircase that appeared to be the Wizard equivalent to an escalator. It was almost impressive considering that, from what she had seen, they had no idea what electrics were. Her phone would probably blow their minds. She smiled, a memory coming to the forefront of her mind, Meritorious and his reaction to Angry Birds down in the Mevolent's dungeons. Maybe the greasy-haired man would be the same, it might cheer him up a bit or at least get rid of his permanent scowl. It wasn't a good look with that hair. But then, could anything be a good look with that hair?

The man didn't bother to knock maybe he thought it was beneath him. Instead he opened the polished wooden door to the office and striding inside. Valkyrie and Skulduggery followed to the office. Valkyrie didn't know what she had been expecting but it wasn't this. The room was large and circular, many windows let the eerie moonlight flood into the office. One wall was dedicated entirely to portraits, men and women who Valkyrie assumed were old Headmaster's and Headmistress's, all looked as though they were asleep, though she could have sworn she saw one looking at her from behind a huge ear trumpet. In front of the desk stood a number of spindly tables each with strange silver instruments on them, all puffing smoke or whirring in an oddly regular rhythm. But it was the strange bird that caught Valkyrie's eye. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It trilled musically when it saw them.

"A phoenix," Skulduggery told her as he set down the cases. "I thought they were extinct."

"Fawkes is one of the last," a voice said, Valkyrie turned to see an old man dressed in midnight blue robes a serene smile on his rather lined face. He sat at the desk looking at them over a set of half-moon spectacles. Valkyrie recognised him thanks Ghastly's description, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. "Detective Pleasant, Detective Cain, please, take a seat."

Valkyrie sat in one of the chairs opposite the man's desk as the old man's eyes rested on her. She had the trange sensation as though she was being x-rayed, as though his blue eyes could see everything in that one glance. She knew she was being stupid, she knew what to expect if someone was invading her mind, the Sense-Wardens had taught her that. Besides, Cassandra Pharos had put up enough barriers in her mind to stop that happening again. She just hoped that Argeddion hadn't destroyed them when he had freed Darquesse.

"I assume that you are both aware of why you are here," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes focusing on Skulduggery.

"The Triwizard Tournament," Skulduggery replied. "Except there are five champions, I suppose that would make it the Quintwizard Tournament. Maybe the Pentrawizard Tournament?"

Dumbledore chuckled a little but the greasy haired man's glower deepened yet further.

"I suppose it would," Dumbledore smiled for a moment before his face turned serious, the light in his eyes fading a little as they fell on Valkyrie. "Tell me, Miss Cain, what do you know about the Triwizard Tournament?"

"Not a lot," Valkyrie answered with a shrug. Skulduggery had given her a quick history of the Tournament during the car journey. She had got distracted after he had told her just how large the death toll had been. To Valkyrie it seemed stupid to start a Tournament that people were killed in let alone give school kids the chance to compete. "It was cancelled because of all the people that died, I know that much. You guys are trying to start it up again."

"Indeed we are," Dumbledore said his voice a little grim. "Our Department for Magical Games and Sports along with the Department of International Magical Co-operation saw fit to, as you, start it up again. They have spent many months insuring that none of the champions are in mortal danger. Traditionally the Tournament is a competition between Europe's three largest Wizarding Schools but things are a little different this year. Miss Cain, I must ask, I'm sure you understand in your line of work. Did you have anything to do with your name coming out of the Goblet? Anything at all."

"No, I didn't." Valkyrie answered through gritted teeth. She hadn't even known about the stupid Tournament until Skulduggery had rang. Why would she want to uproot everything to compete in something she wasn't even a part of? "I don't know who put my name in but it wasn't me."

"Which name," Skulduggery began, interrupting Dumbledore before he could speak. "Did they put in?"

"Which name?" The greasy haired man asked, speaking for the first time since they had arrived in the Headmaster's office, Valkyrie had almost forgotten he was there. "What do you mean, which name? What is this nonsense?"

"Her given name, her taken name or her true name. You obviously don't know that much about us and to be honest I don't really care. Which was it, Professor?"

"The name that came out," Dumbledore said, sending the man a warning look as he opened his mouth to shout at Skulduggery, his sallow skin developing a red tinge as he stared at the Skeleton Detective his eyes bulging. He looked somewhat deranged. "Was Valkyrie Cain, which I'm assuming is her taken name?"

Skulduggery nodded, saying nothing, as though he was filing away that piece of information for further examination.

"Now that that has been dealt with there is the small matter of who you will be representing during the Tournament, Miss Cain." Dumbledore said. "You do not come from any of the schools who are competing and there is little point sorting you into Hogwarts when you do not practise magic the way we do."

"What about the Sanctuary?" Skulduggery asked. "She could represent our Sanctuary."

"You would need a judge. Each school has their own judge. It would only be fair that you, as our Fifth Champion, have a judge."

"Ravel could do it," Valkyrie said, turning to Skulduggery. "Or Ghastly, he'd love getting out of the Sanctuary."

"He would and it would annoy Mist no end, why not?"

"Excellent," Dumbledore beamed as though Skulduggery had just given him the best Christmas present imaginable. Valkyrie wasn't used to this level of happiness, even Ravel knew how to be serious occasionally. It was unsettling. "Professor Snape will show you to your rooms, you have had a long day and no doubt you want some rest."

Valkyrie knew when a meeting was called to an end, no matter how discreetly. She stood up and picked up her bag, waiting for Skulduggery to do the same before following Snape out of the office. Dumbledore had been right, all she wanted to do was collapse onto her bed and sleep, it had been far too long a day.

Their rooms were a floor above the Headmaster's office, no doubt so as he could keep tabs on them while they stayed at Hogwarts. Snape left them as soon as he had the chance, striding off once he had given them the passwords to their rooms.

"He seems nice," Valkyrie murmured. "I think you upset him."

Skulduggery shrugged, turning to his door and reading out the password that Snape had given him. Valkyrie did the same, at least her password wasn't 'Cockroach Cluster'. Bidding Skulduggery goodnight she dragged her case into his room. It was nowhere near as grand as the Headmaster's office had been or as homely as her room was but it would do. She threw her bag down next to her wardrobe, rummaging around inside it for a while to find the clothes that she had bought for bed. Unfamiliar fabrics met her touch until at last she found the jersey she had talked Skulduggery into buying. Hastily she got changed, hurling the clothes she had been wearing into the bottom of her wardrobe before clambering up onto the huge four-poster bed. Not even a second later she drifted off into the welcome embrace of sleep.


	3. First Impressions and Photo Shoots

Chapter Two: First Impressions and Photo Shoots

Valkyrie met Skulduggery in his room the next morning, having changed into jeans and a black top that felt distinctly new and unfamiliar before slipping into her jacket. She had expected to find the Skeleton Detective meditating on a chair, maybe trying on a new hat with the aid of several mirrors, what she had expected was to him ordering about several small, bat-eared creatures.

"Good morning, Valkyrie," he said, a smile in his voice as she opened his door.

"Skulduggery," Valkyrie began uncertainly as she stepped over a tiny little creature who squeaked indignantly. "What the hell is going on? What are they?"

"Oh, yes, I forgot to mention, Hogwarts has House-elves. They keep the school running, cook the meals, that kind of thing. Ancient Wizard families use them as servants, sort of, except they don't pay them, the elves won't accept payment."

"Okay. Grand. But, Skulduggery, what are they doing in here?"

"Well, as you know, I don't need a bed or most the things in here. So I asked if I could borrow some elves to help move it out of the way. Well I say asked, I meant to but I forgot. I'm sure they won't mind." Skulduggery told her happily as two elves vanished the bed that had sat against the far wall. "And the elves seemed happy about it."

"Anything else that you is needing, sir?" squeaked the elf that Valkyrie had stepped over on her way in. It was wearing what Valkyrie assumed was a tea-towel, stamped with some kind of crest, as a toga. There was a pop as another elf vanished the bedside table with a wave of its tiny little hand.

"No I think that's all, thank you," Skulduggery said to the tiny elf who nodded and with a crack vanished into thin air, along with all the other elves, like Valkyrie had seen Fletcher do on so many occasions. "What do you think?"

"It's a bit, you know, bare." Valkyrie said looking around the practically empty room. Only the wardrobe, one chair, a mirror on the wall beside them and the desk remained. It was just how his house had been before all the modifications he had made for her. Except this room was lacking in a place for his many hats and suits, the wardrobe was a bit too small and Valkyrie knew how he hated his suits not having enough room.

"Excellent," Skulduggery said, picking up his hat and putting it on at just the right angle before looking at himself in the mirror. "Ready for breakfast?"

"I thought you'd never ask, I'm starving, that plane food was awful."

"That because it was plane food, my dear Valkyrie." Skulduggery said as he made his way out of the room. "It's supposed to be terrible."

"You still could have stopped on the way here for food," Valkyrie grumbled remembering the half an hour in the car she had spent trying to persuade him to stop at a services, a pub, a café, anything.

"We were going to be late,"

"We were late, Skulduggery, an hour late."

"But it's the thought that counts." Skulduggery said as they strode down the empty corridor, below them Valkyrie could hear the distant chatter as hundreds of students made their way to breakfast, wherever that was. "Besides, I wasn't hungry."

"You're a skeleton!"

"That could have something to do with it, yes." Skulduggery agreed. "My point is you shouldn't put your stomach above being on time. It gives a bad impression. It's unprofessional."

"You wouldn't be saying that if it was your stomach," Valkyrie muttered as her stomach gave yet another grumble, the fifth one that morning. Wherever the food was she hoped it was somewhere nearby.

Luckily for Valkyrie it was nearby, in fact it was only two floors down from their rooms. But that meant two floors of whispers, stares and one small boy actually screaming when he saw Skulduggery. It was a bit much. Valkyrie had to resist hitting a tall, thick-set, arrogant boy who called her 'that hot chick'. If Ravel hadn't expressly forbidden her from punching anyone she would have smacked him. As it was she merely sent him a glare she usually reserved for Billy-Ray Sanguine. Hogwarts was buzzing with news of 'The Fifth Champion'. Valkyrie felt like she was some kind of celebrity.

The Great Hall was huge. It was beyond huge. It was gigantic. Four long tables sat in the middle of the room, each with hundreds of students squabbling over food. Dotted about on two of the tables were students around her age wearing different coloured robes and looking around in ill-adjusted wonder. They must be the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang delegations, the ones who had actually come for this stupid Tournament unlike her. More than one head turned as she and Skulduggery entered the hall, the chatter dying down a little as people got their first glimpses of The Fifth Champion and the Skeleton Detective.

Whispers, that was all Valkyrie could hear as she and Skulduggery made their way down the Great Hall.

"Where do we sit?" Valkyrie asked in a hushed tone. "We are allowed to sit, right? It's not like a student only thing is it and we have to go somewhere else?"

Skulduggery glanced around the hall. "Let's find out."

And without another word he took the nearest seat much to the surprise of the people around him. Valkyrie sighed apologising to the small girl that he had frightened. The girl, staring at Skulduggery, backed down the bench. A walking, talking Skeleton really was too much for some people. Valkyrie forced down the memory of her first meeting with Skulduggery as she took the girl's space.

"Hello," Skulduggery said with a small wave to the red-haired boy that was staring at him open mouthed a piece of toast halfway to his mouth. The bushy haired girl next to him stopped berating the red haired boy out of shock more than anything else. Unlike her friend, however, she didn't look as though she might have a heart attack. "I'm Skulduggery Pleasant and this is my partner Valkyrie Cain."

"Hi,"

"Hermione," the bushy haired girl said with a small, shocked smile. "And this is Ron."

"Do you mind if I have something?" Valkyrie asked gesturing to the plate of scrambled eggs on the table. "I'm starving."

"No, go ahead." Hermione said quickly, her eyes now on Valkyrie as though she was trying to remember something.

"Thanks," Valkyrie said, pulling the plate towards her before grabbing a fork and starting to eat. It had been ages since she'd had scrambled eggs. It felt like months since she had had a proper breakfast. Normally she was out of the house before breakfast, letting the reflection take over because of a case. Even if she did go downstairs she rarely had a cooked breakfast, cereal was quicker and she never woke up in time for school. Not that she went.

"Your name came out of the Goblet," Hermione said after a moment, Ron was still staring though he had managed to shut his mouth now. It really hadn't been a good look for him.

"So I'm told," Valkyrie attempted a smile but under Hermione's suspicious gaze it was hard to keep up. What was it with people in this place? First Dumbledore and now Hermione, she thought Skulduggery had been paranoid about Guild but this was something else. They didn't even know her. But a moment later that look was gone, replaced with a slightly stressed smile. She looked tired, Valkyrie could see small bags under her eyes.

"You're a skeleton," Ron, the boy with the flame red hair, said before Hermione could speak again.

"Ron!" Hermione snapped, shocked at his sheer lack of tact.

"It's quite alright," Skulduggery said gently. "And yes, I am a skeleton. I'm rather good at it too."

"That is so cool," Ron grinned as Hermione sighed, a small part of Valkyrie agreed with her, after all Ron was hardly being the most subtle of people but, then again, it wasn't every day you meet a talking skeleton. "Did it hurt? Dying, I mean. Was it painful?"

"Amazingly yes, yes it did hurt, it was agonising in fact."

Ron went a little white at Skulduggery's blunt words. Valkyrie knew his words, as harsh as they sounded, were true. After days of torture and watching his family die Skulduggery had been subjected to Serpine's red right hand just as she herself had been when they had fought Serpine in the Sanctuary all those years ago. Agonising was definitely the word for it.

Ron tried to stammer an apology as his friend glared at him, Valkyrie went back to her eggs. She wasn't going to make the situation any easier on Ron. After all, he had asked and Skulduggery wasn't one for mincing his words. His friend, Hermione, left soon after cradling a stack of toast and a scowl on her stressed face.

"Where is she going with that?" Valkyrie asked. "Even my Dad doesn't eat that much."

"It's for Harry," Ron mumbled a little bitterly, finally take a bite out of his toast.

"Harry?"

"Potter," Ron replied looking at Valkyrie as though either stupid or insane. "Harry Potter. You do know who that is right?"

"No, should I?" Valkyrie asked, looking at Skulduggery who sighed.

"I did tell you about him," Skulduggery said.

"When?"

"On the plane."

"Skulduggery, I was asleep on the plane."

"But you nodded a lot and mumbled something. Though, that would explain the drooling."

"I do that when I'm asleep?" Valkyrie asked, suddenly incredibly self-conscious.

"Apparently so," Skulduggery said happily, either unaware of the embarrassment his words were causing or enjoying the new shade of red that burned across Valkyrie's cheeks as Ron sniggered a little. "Harry Potter is a Wizarding Hero, he killed a Dark Wizard when he was a baby."

"Not just any Dark Wizard," Ron added losing his goofy grin and adopting a face that Valkyrie had seen a few times before, but that had been during the Supreme Councils Invasion. Every time Elder Straum was mentioned Ravel's face would become dark and serious, lose the laughter than Valkyrie was used to. It was disconcerting seeing the look reflected so clearly on Ron's face. "You-Know-Who."

"Lord Voldemort," Skulduggery told her and after a moment's silence and Ron visibly winced in fear. Valkyrie stared in amazement. Nobody could be that bad. Even Mevolent didn't have that effect on the mortals Valkyrie had seen in the other dimension and he was at the height of his power. "Some say he was the darkest wizard to ever live."

"And this Harry guy stopped him? Just like that?"

"Indeed he did," Skulduggery nodded. "No-one's quite sure how he managed it either. I heard reports at the time, Meritorious was trying to persuade the English Council to send aid but they refused. They thought they complicate matters, apparently. Meritorious believed that it was for far more selfish reasons. They weren't in danger and they didn't want war. The English may not be as powerful as us, Valkyrie, but they are powerful. A war would distract them from international affairs and that would lead to a fight over who takes their place. In the end it didn't matter. Harry Potter got there first and became the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Wow," Valkyrie said after a moment. "That's kind of impressive, even for us."

"It is," Skulduggery agreed. "Not only that but he's your competition."

"Really? I thought you said there was some sort of Age thing."

"An Age Line, yes, but that Goblet has tampered with. Otherwise we wouldn't be sitting here. Whoever put your name in could have put his in just as easily." Skulduggery said solemnly. Ron looked as though he was about to say something but decided against it, settling instead with a confused look before he opened his mouth so wide a yeti would have been proud as he began shovelling in a forkfuls of bacon and eggs. Some people really were disgusting.

The next few days were a blur for Valkyrie. For the first time in weeks Skulduggery had returned focusing solely on her training, both physical and magical. They met almost every day in his room, the furniture moved to the bathroom whenever they started so as it wasn't in the way. He began to teach her boxing alongside her normal routine and Valkyrie soon found herself in the care of Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. The matron's behaviour echoed that of Kenspeckle's treatment of her, except she was nowhere near as grouchy. Valkyrie still missed him and trips to the Hospital Wing did little to make her forget.

But that was nowhere near as demanding as her magical training, which was a lot harder than she remembered. They were still practising fire and air over water but now Skulduggery was trying to teach her how to make a stream of fire. It was more than a little draining but it was worth it and she was slowly beginning to master it, though nowhere as quickly as she wanted to. Elemental magic was nowhere near as easy for her to pick up as Necromancy had been. But that was why she needed to practise.

"So," Skulduggery said after a short training session. It had been a mock fight between the two of them, so as he could gauge her progress, it had been going well until they had been interrupted by a tiny boy with a camera and what Valkyrie now knew were Gryffindor robes. Apparently her presence was required at some sort of photo shoot, she had nodded and he had rushed off his eyes wide when Skulduggery joined her in the doorway. "Are you going to go?"

"I kind of have to," Valkyrie grumbled picking up her jacket. Skulduggery had forced her to fight without her protective clothing telling her she couldn't rely on it forever. "I hate having my picture taken. Do I look okay?"

"You look lovely," Skulduggery assured her.

Valkyrie looked down at herself. She was wearing tattered jeans and a top that had been singed a little at the bottom the day before when they had been practising with fire. "I'll just get changed."

After a quick stop in her room, picking out the only pair of jeans that she hadn't worn to training and a vaguely smart top. She knew that her competition would be wearing their school uniforms, ties, shirts and a robe. Not that she would stand out at the shoot anyway. Valkyrie had seen the Beauxbaton champion, a girl with such incredible beauty even Valkyrie had stopped and stared.

When she reached the right room she knocked, and entered.

It was a rather small room, not exactly what she had imagined for a photo shoot. The desks that she assumed normally filled the room were pushed to the back wall leaving space for three of the tables to be placed end to end and covered in velvet. Six chairs were behind the velvet covered tables. A man with boyish blue eyes and blonde hair sat on the end a ridiculously large smile plastered on his round face, he could only be Ludo Bagman the Head of Magical Games and Sports. He was talking to a blonde haired woman in long, magenta robes who looked about as realistic as a Barbie doll. Fake, died hair, long nails that obviously weren't hers and jewelled glasses that glittered far too much to be real, this woman really was a fake. A paunchy man, holding a large black camera, stood behind her and every few second his eyes would dart to where the other champions were sitting, or rather where one particular champion was sitting: Fleur Delacour.

Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang Champion, stood moodily next to a line of chairs saying nothing to anyone. Fleur and Cedric were talking happily, Fleur throwing back her hair so as it caught the light and made it glisten. Valkyrie had to resist smirking, she knew exactly what Fleur was doing though when she had seen it done before it was a lot more subtle. By the look on Cedric Diggory's handsome face it wasn't working. The last champion sat next to the two, he was a small, skinny boy who looked a little unhealthy. He had unruly jet black hair that stuck up at odd angles, much like Fletcher's though this wasn't meticulously untamed, it was his actual hair. His hair was swept low over his forehead, brushing the tops of his round glasses. Underneath, Valkyrie knew, was his lightning bolt scar. She couldn't blame him for wanting to hide it.

"Here she is," Bagman suddenly boomed as he spotted her, his grin, if it was possible, widening yet further. "Valkyrie Cain, take a seat Valkyrie, the Wand Weighing Ceremony is about to start. The others judges will be joining us in a minute, Dumbledore's just talking to our expert. It's nothing to worry about, just checking that your wands are in working order."

Valkyrie nodded, staying silent as she sat down. He would find out soon enough that she didn't actually have a wand. The blonde woman's eyes flitted between Valkyrie and the boy that must be Harry Potter as though she was trying to decide which to pick, like they were fruit at a supermarket.

"Then we will be having a small photo shoot, nothing too taxing, Rita here is writing an article for the Daily Prophet."

"An article that keeps getting bigger," the woman called Rita said with a predatory smile. She snapped open her crocodile skin handbag. She paused for a moment before her eyes settled on Harry. "I was wondering if I could have a little word with Harry before we start, Ludo? Our youngest champion... to add a bit of colour."

"Unless Harry has any objections, certainly!" Bagman cried cheerfully.

But, before Harry could speak, the door swung open and several people walked in. Judging from his panicked look he did have objections but Valkyrie doubted Rita would let him voice them. Reporters never did.

Dumbledore was followed by an old man with pale eyes, a gigantic woman who was Headmistress of Beauxbaton, an oily looking man with a terrible goatee, Headmaster of Durmstrang, a man with a pencil moustache and a haggard look that Valkyrie assumed was Barty Crouch and a man with a boxer's build and scars that covered his entire head. Valkyrie didn't bother to hide her grin as Ghastly Bespoke stepped into the room wearing an exquisitely tailored waistcoat and a pristine white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he finished the look with a warm, friendly smile.

They all sat, except for the old man with the large eyes who remained standing, smiling at them all serenely.

"May I introduce Mr Ollivander and Mr Bespoke?" Dumbledore said as he took his place at the judges table next to Ghastly. "Mr Ollivander will be checking your wands to ensure they are in a good condition before the Tournament. Also, due to the peculiarity of this Tournament we have found ourselves in need of another judge. Mr Bespoke has kindly agreed to fill the position as he is part of the faculty Miss Cain is representing."

Valkyrie looked around the room, her fellow champions were somewhat taken aback by Ghastly but no-one was showing it as clearly as the woman called Rita who was staring at Ghastly with a mixture of disgust and shock. In response he gave her a gentle smile that split the scars around his lips along with a wave, Valkyrie fought down a laugh as the look of revulsion on her face deepened.

Fleur went first but Valkyrie wasn't really paying attention, instead she ran through the techniques that Skulduggery had been teaching her, playing with her Necromancer ring as she did so, twirling it around her fingers. She only looked up when Harry Potter rose from his chair. It would be her turn next. Ollivander spent far longer examining Harry's wand that anyone else's, muttering to himself as he spun it end of end in his bony hands. Eventually he announced that it was in perfect working order after making a jet of red wine shoot out of the end.

"Which leaves us with... Miss Cain." Ollivander announced after a moment."Miss Cain, your wand if you please."

"I don't have one," Valkyrie said feeling rather foolish under the stunned stares of everyone in the room but Dumbledore and Ghastly. To them there was no other way to perform magic, their magic was different to hers, channelled through a wand not fuelled by the power of a name. But that didn't stop her cheeks burning under the astounded stares of a room full of people, people who now thought she was less than useless. A small smile pulled at Dumbledore's lips but he stayed silent, Ghastly instead coming to her defence.

"Though, I can personally vouch for Valkyrie. She is more than prepared for whatever you can throw at her."

"But if she can't do magic," Bagman began, his blue eyes flecked with confusion. "Then how can she compete? It's a magical tournament for Merlin's sake!"

"I never said I couldn't," Valkyrie snapped a wave of embarrassment fuelled anger crashing over her. With a click of her fingers summoned a ball of fire into her hand. There was a shriek from the corner but Valkyrie ignored Rita. She let it burn for a moment, all eyes on her the room in stunned silence, before extinguishing the flame. "I just said I don't have a wand."

Silence enveloped the room before Dumbledore stood from the judges' table. "Thank you all, you can now return to your lessons - or perhaps it would simply be quicker for you just to go down to dinner, as they are about to -"

But Dumbledore was interrupted by Bagman who had recovered first, his boyish grin back on his face. "Photos, Dumbledore, photos! Judges and Champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Yes," Rita agreed, her eyes no longer on Harry but instead fixed firmly on Valkyrie. "And then, perhaps, some individual ones? Maybe a champion with their judge?"

The photos took far too long. Maxime was the biggest problem as she kept putting everyone else in shadow or she wouldn't fit in the frame. Eventually it was decided that she sit while everyone else stood around her. The photographer seemed to be having some kind of private battle. The photographer was keen to get Fleur most in shot but Rita kept hurrying forwards and dragging Valkyrie into prominence. Valkyrie was tempted to summon a spark, see if Rita's hair survived being that close to a flame. Then individual shots were insisted upon, the most taken of Valkyrie. The photographer kept telling her to smile but instead she sent him a glare. She hadn't wanted to be here in the first place. Finally the champions were told to stand with their respective judges. Ghastly joined Valkyrie as they waited to be summoned in front of the lens but once again Maxime was causing problems.

"You gave them quite a show," Ghastly said, taking a seat next to Valkyrie.

"They were asking for it," Valkyrie muttered bad temperedly, glowering at Rita.

"At least you didn't hit anyone," Ghastly sighed."Mist is convinced you're somehow going to start an International incident; it's why she let me come."

"Ravel already gave us the pep talk," Valkyrie said. "We're not allowed to hit anyone and Skulduggery can't shoot anyone even if they do deserve it."

"And he's sticking to it?"

"Yeah, he hasn't even threatened anyone once."

Ghastly chuckled softly but he was cut short by Rita swooping down on them both, flashing them a forced smile before dragging them up for yet another round of photos. Valkyrie sighed. Right now she would rather be anywhere other than in front of that camera. Falling off a building, solving a case with Skulduggery, even battling her way through an army of Hollow Men was better than this. But it would soon be over. At least, she hoped it would.


	4. Repercussions, Brawls and Dragons

**AN: First off I'd like to thank everyone who has followed, favourited and most important of all reviewed this story. It means a great deal, especially Morgan Sulfer and Louisiana Stephenic who have reviewed every chapter so far. You guys are what makes writing amazing, so thank you! Second, one reviewer, Skippy, said that the two timlines of Skulduggery and HP don't agree. They don't but only for the purpose of the story. Everything else both from Skulduggery and HP is canon complient I just had to adjust the timelines a little for this to work. Thanks again to everyone who loves this story, I hope you love this next chapter too. **

Chapter Three: Repercussions, Brawls and Dragons

The result of the Wand Weighing Ceremony came out a few days later, copies of the _Daily Prophet_ were rapidly circulated around the school, students could be seen reading copies and more and more were reading them and pointing at Valkyrie as she passed. But their whispers were different to how they had been before. They were more furtive. It was a little unsettling. But as soon as Skulduggery presented her with a copy she knew why she was suddenly the centre of the school's attention.

Skeeter had hardly been complimentary. The article was offset by a large, moving picture of herself and Ghastly standing in front of the judges' table. Valkyrie was quite proud to see that, even in a photograph that moved constantly, she maintained a glare at the camera man. The only way the picture could have had a worse effect would have been if Skulduggery had taken Ghastly's place. Skeeter had painted her as some kind of freak, she had even slandered Ghastly due to his scared face. She really was a lovely woman.

"You know," Valkyrie said as she read the article her feet resting on the desk in Skulduggery's room as she leant back on his chair. "Considering this is supposed to be about the Tournament she mentions it about three times."

"Twice actually," Skulduggery replied as he adjusted his hat looking into the mirror. "Once at the start and again at the end, after the part where she calls you an 'insult to Wizarding Britain.' She doesn't even mention the Diggory boy and that French girl."

"Lucky them," Valkyrie said bitterly scowling at the stupid article. It was pathetic. She would have found it funny if Skeeter hadn't attacked Ghastly too. Seething Valkyrie hurled the paper into the fireplace which was already roaring merrily, the flames dancing and licking at the mail that Valkyrie had already tossed into the fireplace. She had opened three, all were three were exactly the same, hate mail. The words varied but they had the same intent. Valkyrie had burned the rest. It wasn't even as if she had wanted to come to this stupid Tournament in the first place.

"Not really," Skulduggery said, buttoning up his jacket. "They want the publicity, they wouldn't be competing otherwise. Imagine how they're going to feel when two champions who didn't enter get more of the spotlight than them."

"You still don't think Harry entered then?"

"In a word? No." Skulduggery said. "He hates the Tournament even more than you do. Apparently his best friend won't talk to him because he still refuses to admit he entered. Why? Because he didn't do it, Valkyrie. Whoever put your name in must have put his in. That or we have two psychopaths who both know how to fool an incredibly powerful object and both have something to gain from you two being in this Tournament. I think you'll agree that's not very likely. So, whoever is masterminding this has plans for you both."

"Joy," Valkyrie muttered getting up from her chair, her stomach rumbling. She sighed, time to face the castle again. A castle that had been less than welcoming since the article. "But you'll figure it out though?"

"Naturally," Skulduggery said a smile in his voice as he opened the door and they entered the busy throng of students heading towards the Great Hall.

For the next few days Valkyrie had to endure students whispering around her as she walked through the castle. Some had even tried to quote it at her, but ever since she had threatened to throw Zacharias Smith off the Astronomy Tower for asking her how a pretty girl like her could hang around such freaks they hadn't dared say anything more. Ghastly hadn't said anything about her not threatening anybody, only Skulduggery.

Tuesday evening found Valkyrie on her way back from the Hospital Wing, yet again. Madam Pomfrey had yet again admonished her for her behaviour with Skulduggery but had healed the broken nose all the same. That was the only problem with her protective clothes, nothing covered her head. More than once she wished she had a hood, not a mask. Her freak mask may have saved her from the jaws of a yeti but she wasn't about to be seen in it by anybody other than Skulduggery. A voice, echoed around the corridor, tearing her from her thoughts.

"My, my, Miss Cain," She turned, arching an eyebrow as a blonde boy, around Harry's age stepped out of the shadows a slimy smile on his pale face. His slicked back blonde hair practically glistened in the torch light. He was holding a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and copy that Valkyrie was all too familiar with. "I must say I am impressed, fooling the Goblet and enraging Rita Skeeter all in two week, how do you do it? The name's Draco Malfoy."

Valkyrie knew that tone. So full of his own self-righteousness, the tone of men who though they controlled the world. Serpine had had that tone once. But Malfoy was nothing like him. From what she had heard he was a spoilt brat with nothing better to do than bully people he thought below him. He was selfish and power hungry, not an attractive combination. His eyes were fixed on her, waiting for a response, probably expecting her to be impressed. He was going to be disappointed.

"Seriously?" Valkyrie asked, not bothering to hide her laugh. Did people at this school have any normal names? "That's what you're called? Mommy couldn't think of anything better?"

The boy lost his smile, his eyes turning cold. "You might not be aware of this Cain so let me give you one warning. My family is very powerful. Father is very influential with the Ministry. I advise that you never take that tone with me again."

"Or what?"

"I'll make life very difficult for you, very quickly." Malfoy snarled, losing his calm demeanour. "I was going to offer you a place at my side, Cain. You're going to need all the help you can get. You've made a big mistake."

"Really?" Valkyrie asked, unimpressed. "Well, I've got all the help I need, thanks."

And with that she turned away, leaving Malfoy standing behind her in the corridor. There was a flurry of movement, a shout and a bang. If it hadn't been for her protective clothing Valkyrie was sure she would have broken rib. As it was she was sent crashing into the wall as something slammed into her with the force of a truck. She clambered to her feet, cursing. Malfoy was smirking at her, his wand held out, those cold eyes flashing. He opened his mouth again, ready to curse her again.

She snapped her palm against the air. Displaced air rippled across the corridor and Malfoy was sent flying, skidding across the floor. A jet of red light burst from his wand but she dodged it easily, closing the distance between them. Another curse flew at her and she dived, crashing into him. They hurtled to the floor rolling. Valkyrie tightened her grip on him, forcing him down, getting her foot planted firmly against the floor to stop them rolling. She was on top now. She sent elbows into his smug little face. He cried out and aimed his wand again but she pinned his wand to the floor. He tried to force her off and they rolled again but his wand stayed where it was, having fallen from his grip. There was a snap and Valkyrie felt the shards of Malfoy's wands pressing into her back. She had broken it.

"What are you doing!" a voice yelled as Malfoy sent a fist into her face. She cried out and thrust her arms up, shielding her face. He kept punching but he was focusing too much on her face. She drove her knee into his groin and he cried out rolling off her giving her space to move. Breathing heavily she clambered to her feet, looking for the source of the voice. Malfoy moaned on the ground beside, his fingers reaching for what remained of his wand.

A professor that Valkyrie vaguely recognised was hurrying towards them wearing a tartan dressing gown, her wand out. Their fighting had probably woken her. A name swam to the surface of Valkyrie's mind, McGonagall. Professor McGonagall. The Gryffindor Head of House and Transfiguration teacher advanced on Valkyrie and Malfoy a fierce look on her lined face. Never before had Valkyrie seen anyone's lips go quite that thin.

"Fighting in the corridors," McGonagall breathed, clearly livid. "I have never seen the like. Miss Cain, you will explain yourself."

"He attacked me," Valkyrie said, pointing at Malfoy who was glaring at her with undisguised hatred as he clutched the remnants of his wand in his hands. "I taught him a lesson. End of story."

"Miss Cain, if what you say is true then your actions were somewhat justified but that does not excuse breaking his wand."

"That was an accident," Valkyrie protested. "He tried to curse me, or jinx me or whatever. I tried to force it away and he sent me rolling and dropped it. It isn't my fault he was stupid enough to let go of it."

"If you were a student at this school, Miss Cain, I would be giving you a week's worth of detentions. As it is I will be talking to Detective Pleasant, accident or not. If this happens again you will not get off so lightly, do you understand me?"

"Yes,"

"Mister Malfoy, get up," McGonagall said unsympathetically to the blonde haired boy who was still too shocked by the destruction of his wand to speak. "I may not be able to punish, Miss Cain but I certainly can punish you. Thirty points from Slytherin and a week's worth of detentions with me, starting tomorrow night at eight o'clock. I do not want to hear about you attacking anyone else this year, first Potter and now Miss Cain, if I do I will be speaking to the Headmaster."

Malfoy turned his glare to Professor McGonagall and Valkyrie saw his face for the first time since McGonagall had arrived. Blood poured from his now bent nose and a large welt was already forming on his cheek and under his left eye. Valkyrie had to resist grinning. "My father will hear about this."

"Yes he will, Mister Malfoy" McGonagall snapped. "I will personally write the letter. Now, go to the Hospital Wing, unless you want your nose to stay that shape."

Malfoy continued to mutter about his father as he limped away, his shattered wand still cradled in his hand. Valkyrie had the feeling that Ghastly would find out sooner rather than later. Though, she thought she'd done well, she had managed more than a week without hitting someone and Malfoy had started it. That didn't count.

As it turned out, it did count. Ravel was less than impressed, or at least he pretended to be while Mist was in the room. As soon as she left he began to question her about the attack over Skulduggery's phone, which, thanks to the many magical improvements he had given it, worked inside the school grounds. He first made sure that she was okay, that neither he nor Skulduggery had to hit anyone before asking how Malfoy had faired. He didn't stop laughing for a good minute. Ravel really wasn't good at discipline. Not that Valkyrie would have listened if he had tried, she didn't even listen to Skulduggery.

After her fight with Malfoy the school's opinion of her was somewhat divided, though mostly improved. All of the Gryffindors congratulated her, saying it was about time someone taught him a lesson. The Slytherins, however, became defensive of their housemate. Quite a few Hufflepuffs were supportive of her, Malfoy and his cronies had been bullying them almost as much as the Gryffindors. Only the Ravenclaws opposed Valkyrie's actions. As much as they loathed Malfoy they didn't approve of her methods, thinking her to be some kind of brute, not that she cared. She had more important things to be worrying about.

The First Task.

November the twenty-fourth was fast approaching and Valkyrie still had no idea what the task would entail. Skulduggery had been doing his best to find out and train accordingly but no leads had come up. None of the other champions knew either. Maxime and Karkaroff had both been trying similar methods to Skulduggery and none of them had come up with anything. All of the champions were becoming more and more nervous. Krum withdrew yet further, only coming out of the ship for mealtimes. Fleur and Cedric were more often than not found in the library looking up spells and enchantments. Harry, from the looks of him, was getting little sleep. The argument that he and Ron were having was distracting him from everything else. Occasionally Valkyrie glimpsed him in the library but nowhere near as often as his competitors.

Skulduggery still insisted on regular training sessions but now with differences. Locations changed almost daily. He also bought a set of dummies for her to train with, getting them to attack all at once or one at a time so as Valkyrie became accustomed to defending herself against a group alone. Unlike their cases she was not allowed to have Skulduggery by her side. It was strange to fight with him but she managed. Most nights she was tired, beaten and bruised but it was worth it. Her grasp of Elemental magic was slowly improving thanks to Skulduggery's intensive tutoring. Water was still a problem but as long as she wasn't thrown into the Black Lake she wasn't too worried. If she was at least she could swim. Other than that she was prepared as she would ever be. Without knowing what to prepare for she couldn't train anything specific. But Skulduggery was working on that.

The week before the task went by in a blur for Valkyrie. Now that half the school was on her side after what she had done to Malfoy there were fewer and fewer hate-filled whispers following her around. Not that she had minded too much, she didn't even know these people after all but it had been annoying walking around with people pointing and staring, some even whispering abuse as she passed. Without them Valkyrie started to enjoy mealtimes, becoming friendly with a few Gryffindors other than Ron who had become more and more sullen as the task approached. While she ate Skulduggery would either be in his room making calls, hunting around to see if any of the people they knew also held a grudge against Harry or trying to figure out what the First Task was.

As it turned out, he didn't have to.

"Hey, Valkyrie?" Harry Potter, a nervous look on his pale face, said as he took the space next to her in the nearly empty Great Hall. There was nobody around her, everyone had already returned to their Common Rooms or gone to the library, whatever it was Hogwarts students did on a Sunday. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," Valkyrie said with a smile, spearing the last of half of her sausage. Unlike Malfoy she doubted that Harry would have any ulterior motive. He was painfully shy, kept himself to himself. According to Skulduggery he was also almost pathologically honest, if he wasn't he would have lied to Ron to preserve their friendship. As it was neither were talking to one another.

"It's the First Task," Harry told her quickly, glancing around. "Look, can we go somewhere else?"

Intrigued Valkyrie nodded, finished her sausage and followed him out of the Great Hall and into the grounds. She pulled the collar of her jacket up against the wind glad that Ghastly had made her jacket adjust to the climate. Instead of the icy wind cutting through her she felt just as warm as she had been inside the castle. Only her face was exposed and she soon felt it going cold before she and Harry took shelter behind a large rock on the Black Lake's shore.

"So?" Valkyrie asked through lips that were far too cold. "What's up?"

"It's dragons," Harry said, shivering a little as gust of wind hit them. "The task. It's dragons."

"Okay," Valkyrie nodded slowly, letting what Harry had just told her sink in. Dragons. Real dragons. They wanted her to fight a dragon. She'd faced gods, Remnants and the Death Bringer, she could face a dragon. She looked down at her protective jacket, not once had she asked Ghastly if it was fireproof. It was bulletproof and absorbed just about anything else. It had to be fireproof.

"They've got one for each of us." Harry told her. "Fleur and Krum know already, I haven't told Cedric yet but it's only fair we all know if the others do. We're even now."

There was a small pause where Valkyrie stared out across the Black Lake. Dragons. If he hadn't told her she would have been facing a fully grown dragon and she wouldn't have had a clue. "Listen Harry, thanks."

"It's okay. I'm just returning a favour. What you did to Malfoy," Harry said with a grin. "He's still got a black eye. Did you really break his wand?"

"Only a little bit," Valkyrie said with a shrug but Harry's grin proved to be infectious. "Okay, yeah I did but he shouldn't have tried to curse me."

Harry laughed but his laugh was soon carried off by another gust of wind. His teeth were chattering and he was shivering slightly so they both trudged back to the castle, Valkyrie telling Harry all about her fight with Malfoy much to Harry's appreciation. It was the first time she had seen him smile. It suited him. Better than the tired look he'd been trying out the last few weeks.

They were greeted by Skulduggery who was wearing a black suit and hat cocked to one side, his hands in his pockets. Harry bid them farewell, saying something about preparing for the First Task before he hurried up the staircase.

"I know what it is," Skulduggery announced proudly. "The First Task. I figured it out. You're impressed I can tell."

"You aren't the only one," Valkyrie said, failing to hide her grin. "It's dragons. I've got to fight a dragon."

"No," Skulduggery said smugly. "You've got a get past a dragon and steal a golden egg. It's completely different."

"I was half-right,"

"You were also half-wrong, Valkyrie." Skulduggery pointed out. "Where as I was completely correct. As usual. You know, it really staggers me sometimes just how amazing I am."

Valkyrie sighed, it really was going to be a long day. But as she followed Skulduggery up the stairs ignoring him as he continued to bathe in his own gigantic ego a small smile came to her lips. Now she knew. She knew what she was up against. It might not be cuddly but at least she had a chance now. All she had to do was get past a dragon and steal a golden egg. She could do that.

Right?


	5. The First Task

**AN: Thanks, everyone for all your reviews. Means a lot, glad you're all loving this story so far. Hope this doesn't disappoint. Here we are, the First Task.**

Chapter Four: The First Task

Her days were filled with none stop training. Now that they knew what to expect Skulduggery was teaching her how to block fire, manipulate it around her or erect a wall of air or shadows. Getting the egg was the easy part, according to Skulduggery. While it would have anti-summoning wards on it wouldn't be any problem for her. Her magic gave her an edge, most wizards didn't know about sorcery and the only way to block Valkyrie's magic would be to either bind her or get an expert like China to carve symbols on the egg. Someone like China was hard tom come by even for Skulduggery and they could hardly bind her when she was facing a dragon.

It did little to make her feel better. But it was a new feeling, knowing what was coming. If this had been one of their cases she and Skulduggery would have faced the dragon with a moment's notice, maybe a few hours at most. But Valkyrie had days and while that meant she could prepare it also meant that her mind was free to fixate on the threat of a dragon.

"Again," Skulduggery ordered.

Monday evening found them outside in the Hogwarts Grounds, his room had proved impractical and so they trained outside where the students couldn't see or be affected. Mainly because no student was stupid enough to go out in the November cold. Valkyrie groaned as she got up, dusting herself off. Due to the nature of their training she was wearing her protective clothing daily, which, thankfully, was indeed fireproof unlike all her other clothes.

Bracing herself she faced him again. Originally he had given her warning when he would strike but, as he had pointed out, the dragon wouldn't be as polite. A jet of flames shot from his hand a moment later. Valkyrie held out her own, the way Skulduggery had shown her. The flames parted, white hot heat writhed around her face but she remained unscathed.

"Good," Skulduggery said as he cut off the flames. "That was good. There isn't a lot I can show you, there just isn't enough time. Just remember, stay calm, don't face the dragon head on unless you have to and get that egg. As soon as you it they should restrain the dragon."

"And if they don't?"

"They will,"

"Yeah, but what if they don't?"

"But they will so you have nothing to -"

"Skulduggery." Valkyrie warned.

"The dragon will keep fighting and probably try to kill you."

"And how sure are you that that won't happen?"

"Positive," Skulduggery assured her as they began walking towards the castle where a hot meal and a bed that Valkyrie was desperate to fall into was waiting. "Almost certain, the man I talked to was very confident. He said it's been months since they've lost control of a dragon."

"Months?"

"Oh yes and then the keeper only lost an arm,"

"An arm?"

"It may have been a leg, definitely a limb, nothing vital."

"So you're saying I might lose a limb?" Valkyrie asked incredulously.

"But the chances are astronomically low," Skulduggery said as they finally reached the Entrance Hall. Valkyrie undid her jacket, thankful to be out of the icy cold wind. "Don't worry, Valkyrie, that man was stupid. He thought it would be a good idea to put his foot on the dragon while it slept for a photo. It woke up and ate him before the other handler's knew what was happening. He was a moron."

"He does sound stupid,"

"Exactly, you'll be fine, Valkyrie." Skulduggery assured her gently as they entered the Great Hall. They joined the Gryffindor table, as they did most evenings. They had been more than welcoming of Valkyrie ever since she had beaten up Malfoy. The Weasley Twins, Ron's brothers, more than once had asked her to regale them with the tale something she was more than happy to do. They were a good audience.

"Hey Val," Fred grinned at her as she took the place opposite the twins. "Where were you at lunch? You've not been training again have you?"

"Yep," Valkyrie nodded as she spooned a large chunk of Shepherd's Pie onto her plate. It was great to finally be having square meals. Adventures with Skulduggery were great but she was rarely regularly fed. She had the memories of square meals thanks to the reflection but she never ate them. The best she could hope for was a pizza and a can of coke. "All day."

"It's for your own benefit," Skulduggery interjected.

"Was I complaining?"

"You were about to,"

Valkyrie rolled her eyes and went back to eating. Fred and George tried at least three times to convince her to eat one of their custard creams but Valkyrie knew better than to accept food off Hogwarts' resident pranksters. Ever since they had slipped their brother once when he wasn't looking and he had been transformed into a giant canary much to the delight of everyone else on the Gryffindor table.

Sleep proved difficult that night. Every time she closed her eyes an image of a fire breathing dragon would fill her mind. She had to go out and face a huge fire-breathing dragon alone, no Skulduggery by her side, she was going to be alone. But she wasn't about to run away. She was going to face that dragon and beat it to a pulp. After all, she'd faced worse.

After a fitful night's sleep she spent the morning with Skulduggery, except they weren't training, they were doing research. She hadn't research. It was too much like work. Hitting people was far more fun. But Skulduggery had insisted. And she didn't want to be beaten and bruised before facing the damn dragon. She was saved doing more research at around lunchtime when Ghastly came in to check on her, a large, neatly wrapped package in his hand.

"Valkyrie," he smiled when he entered the room. He was wearing a black waistcoat with dark red lining, white shirt and a deep blue that looked specially made. Valkyrie hadn't seen him wear it before in all the time she had known him. "I know I'm supposed to be impartial but I thought I had better wish you good luck and I want to give you this."

"What is it?" Valkyrie asked, taking the package and undoing the thin, black string that held it together. Ghastly didn't answer but smiled as the brown paper fell apart. Valkyrie stared.

"Thanks, Ghastly!" Valkyrie grinned before she began unfolding the contents of the package. The trousers, a dark grey that was a few shades lighter than the black ones she usually wore, were the first item that she looked at. A black belt was threaded through the hooks along the waistline. It was held together by a round, silver clasp. Next was a jet black shirt with blood red stitching that was made from the same material as her protective clothing. But it was the coat that Valkyrie fell in love. Unlike her jacket it was long and reached down to her ankles. It was as black as sin and the large collar was a dark red like the stitching of her shirt, the lining was the same blood red. Valkyrie couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

"I thought a bit of colour would liven things up a bit," Ghastly told her. "I was going to make it a dark blue but I know how you love black. I wasn't too sure about the trousers though, you already have a black pair so I went for something new."

"They're amazing, Ghastly." Valkyrie smiled as she put on the coat. It fitted perfectly. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. Think of it as a late Birthday present." Ghastly said, smiling as she stood in front of the long mirror that Skulduggery had bought in the village. All of her anxiety about the dragon vanished as she looked at herself in that mirror. They were perfect. "But they're not the only reason I'm here. They're asking for you. The champions all need to be in the Grounds."

"It's that time, already?" Valkyrie asked, her smile fading, her anxiety returning.

"I'm afraid so," Ghastly said.

Valkyrie nodded and picked up the rest of the clothing that he had just given her. Quickly she changed and threw her old clothes into her wardrobe. After a final glance in the mirror and a deep breath she followed Ghastly and Skulduggery, who had dropped the folder he had been reading when he realised what was happening, through the school and out into the Grounds. Ghastly's jaw was tight and Skulduggery was unusually quiet as they made their way to the place Valkyrie assumed the dragons were being kept.

In front of a large clump of trees at the edge of the Forest stood a large tent, its entrance facing them as they walked towards it. Valkyrie could hear the chattering of a large crowd and she swore she heard a distant roar. The tent hid everything from view, both the crowd and the dragons.

"This is where we leave you, I'm afraid," Ghastly said when they stopped outside the tent's entrance. "The champions are all in there. Bagman will tell you everything you need to know. Good luck, Valkyrie."

"Thanks," Valkyrie said, trying to smile. Ghastly nodded, gave her a brief smile before leaving to go wherever it was the judges had to go before judging. It was probably nicer than a tent.

"You're going to be fine," Skulduggery assured her in a soft voice. "Just remember what I taught and for God's sake don't stand on it even if there are photographers."

She laughed and then he was hugging her. She wrapped her arms around his skeletal frame, a small part of her, and a silly part of her at that, wished that she could stay like that forever then she wouldn't have to go out and face the dragon. But she had to. There was no way around it. That was the point. Whoever had put her name in that Goblet had made sure that she would have to compete so here she was about to face a dragon.

"Good luck," Skulduggery said when he stepped back. They shared a final look before she turned and entered the tent.

All the other champions were already inside. The beautiful Fleur Delacour was looking nowhere near as glamorous as usual. Pale and clammy she sat on a stool in the far corner of the tent looking as though she was about to be sick. Krum's glower was fixed in place and his head was stooped low. Valkyrie didn't understand why so many Hogwarts girls fixated on him. He was nothing special, if anything he was a little rude. Mean and moody could only get someone so far. Both the Hogwarts champions looked equally nervous, Cedric Diggory was pacing up and down while Harry stood on his own as far away from the others as possible a queasy look on his thin face.

"Valkyrie, there you are , we were beginning to thought we'd lost you," Bagman boomed happily, he was the only one who looked as though he was enjoying himself though Valkyrie doubted his grin would be as boyish if it was him facing the dragon. He was wearing a set of truly awful striped robes that looked as though someone should have burnt them a long time ago.

"Now we're all I can fill you in," Bagman said brightly taking out a purple silk bag from his pocket before he continued speaking. "I'm going to offering each of you this bag, each of you will select a small model of what you're about to be facing. But that is only half of it. Your task. You have to collect the golden egg!"

He looked around with wide-eyed excitement, maybe he expected them to be happy or as excited as he was. Instead he was faced with pale-faced, panicking champions who all knew what was in store. It hadn't been a very well kept secret, Valkyrie reflected. She smiled at Bagman, doing her best not to show that on the panic that was building up inside her. Everything she had said was true, she had faced worse but she had been scared then only she was accustomed to it and she didn't have that much time to think before the adrenaline kicked in. But now she had had days to let her fears stew in her mind and it wasn't doing her any good at all. But she was nowhere near as bad as this lot.

Valkyrie waited in a stony silence while the rest of the crowd began to thunder in around her. Some people were laughing, telling jokes but all were excited to see what the champions would be facing. As soon as the noise past the tent began to die down Bagman opened the neck of his purple silk bag a huge grin on his boyish face.

"Ladies first," Bagman announced holding out the bag.

Fleur went first, her hands trembling she drew out a tiny green dragon which roared in delight to be set free of the bag's dark confines. Around its neck hung a tiny number 'two'. Judging by her resigned expression Harry had been right. Fleur had known.

Valkyrie went next stuffing her hand quickly into the silk bag, under her fingers she could feel the tiny replicas moving, wings scraped against her hand but she grabbed and pulled out a tiny dark blue dragon with a number 'five' around its neck. The tiny creature blew a jet of flame at her before baring its fangs. Valkyrie gave it a wave before stuffing it into the pocket of her new coat.

"Well there you have it!" Bagman said after everyone else had withdrawn their dragon. None of them had shown any hint of surprise. Harry must have told Cedric who had resumed his pacing. All of them a kind of resigned fear plastered on their faces. It was a different atmosphere to the one Valkyrie was used to and she knew which one she preferred.

"Each of you has just pulled out the dragon you will be facing. You see the numbers there, they refer to the order in which you will be facing them. Now, I'm going to have to leave you, I'm commentating. Mr Diggory, you're up first, jut head out into the enclosure when you hear the whistle. Now... Harry... could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er..." Harry said, the combination of surprise and fear probably making his mind go blank. "Sure."

He followed Bagman outside, Bagman talking animatedly leaving Valkyrie and the others in complete silence. None of the others said a word, all preferring the silence which had once again engulfed the tent. Valkyrie hated silence and so began humming a few bars of _Jailbreak _one of her Dad's favourites. God, she missed her parents. It had been over three weeks now. The reflection had been in control for three weeks. What if they began to prefer it to her? What if when she resumed control they didn't like the change?

Valkyrie took a deep breath and pushed the questions down. She was being stupid. She resumed her humming but was interrupted by the blowing a loud, shrill whistle. Diggory had gone a very unattractive shade of green now but stopped pacing and looked at the exit. His jaw set, he took his wand out of his robes and made his way out of the tent without a word. The crowd roared but under their cheers was another roar. The dragon.

Harry came back in, he was far paler than usual and his bright green eyes had lost their shine. He took the space next to Valkyrie on a long bench against the canvas wall. Fleur had taken to retracing Diggory's steps around the tent, occasionally running a hand through her silvery long hair. Valkyrie did her blocked out Bagman's commentary knowing that if she listened it would only make her feel worse. The imagination, Skulduggery had once told her, was a vivid and vicious thing. Whatever was happening to Diggory she knew that Bagman's commentary would make it sound far worse.

After fifteen minutes the crowd roared and Diggory received his marks. The judges didn't shoot them out, they probably had a card or something to show what they thought should be awarded for his performance.

"One down, four to go," Bagman cried cheerfully. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur was trembling all over now, fear gripped every part of her body. She was in shock, Valkyrie had seen it before. Adrenaline was pumping through her body, fuelled by her fear but it had nothing to do so it caused her to shake violently. Valkyrie had felt the same after storming Serpine's castle, her first real mission. Now her body was used to it but Fleur wasn't. A part of her felt sorry for Fleur but then again she had entered herself for this, nobody had forced her hand. Not like Valkyrie.

It was the same thing again, only now Krum and Harry were the only ones that remained. Harry was tapping his wand against his leg, he probably wasn't even aware that he was doing it. Sparks shot from the end of his wand which was marred with fingerprints and slightly chipped at one end. After ten minutes there was a smattering of applause and the whistle sounded again. Krum left them, looking surlier than Valkyrie had ever seen him.

"Nervous?" Valkyrie asked as the crowd roared at Krum's appearance. By the looks of it Harry could do with somebody taking his mind off of his impending fate. He had been kind to her, told her what was coming, it was only fair that she returned the favour.

"Yeah," Harry breathed with a small, nervous laugh. "You?"

"A little bit, but Skulduggery thinks I'm ready and I've been training ever since you told me about the dragons. Thanks for that, by the way. Skulduggery still insists that he figured it out first but he likes to think he's the best around."

"Don't mention it," Harry muttered. "It was only fair, Krum and Fleur already knew."

"Yeah, but you could've kept it to yourself, give yourself an edge. Kind of proves you didn't put your name in really."

"Trying telling everyone else that," Harry said bitterly.

"You and Ron still not made up?"

"No," Harry replied with a sigh. "Hermione reckons it's because he's jealous not because he believes I put my name in. He could have fooled me."

"I can hit him if you want," Valkyrie suggested with a smile. Harry gave a hoarse sort of laugh, a small smile pulling at the edges of his lips. "Seriously, though sometimes we hide things we're ashamed of. I've hidden things from Skulduggery before, I haven't even told my folks I have magic but that doesn't mean I don't care about them. He might be jealous, yeah, but I bet he's too ashamed of how he's treated you to admit it. Just give him a chance to apologise and if he blows it, well, my offer to hit him still stands."

"Thanks, Valkyrie," Harry said with a small grin, the light returned to his bright eyes.

"No worries,"

There was a small pause and then Krum's dragon emitted a horrible, pain-filled roar. "That's some nerves he's showing and - yes - he's got it. Mister Krum has collected his egg!"

Applause and cheers shattered the air. Krum had finished. And now, now it was Harry's turn.

"Good luck,"

"You too," Harry said nervously, gripping his wand tightly before rising to his feet. The whistle sounded for a fourth time and with a fleeting, nervous smile Harry left the tent. Now that Valkyrie was alone the silence seemed to press down on her. She hated waiting. Drumming an irregular beat on the bench she waited, trying to block out Bagman's commentary but something slipped through.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" Bagman yelled over the shrieking and gasping crowd. What was he doing out there? "Are you watching this, Mister Krum?"

Another shriek filled the air and a groan and then silence, nothing but cold, dead silence. Valkyrie could hear his dragon roar and snap at him so he was still alive. What was he doing? And then, out of nowhere there was a roar from the crowd followed by screams and applauding like nothing Valkyrie had heard in the enclosure yet. It was as though she was inside Crowe Park again, the fans roaring and cheering. Whatever he had done it was spectacular.

"Look at that!" Bagman cried. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well, this is going to shorten the odds on Mister Potter!"

The cheering eventually died down long enough for Valkyrie to hear the short sharp blast of the whistle. The last whistle blast of the day. It was her to turn to face the dragon. Taking a deep breath she stepped out of the tent, trying to steady her nerves. She was walking past the trees, a man in brown robes pointed her to the gap in the fence that had been erected past the clump of trees.

The crowd cheered as she stepped into the enclosure. Hundreds of faces stared down at her, all of the students in the castle along with onlookers that Valkyrie had never seen before sat in the stands that encircled the enclosure. Rocks filled the enclosure and at the far end sat her dragon. God, it was huge. Dark blue wings that were almost black unfurled and furled as it stared at Valkyrie, its yellow eyes narrowing. It crouched low of a cluster of eggs, guarding them from Valkyrie. It was monstrous. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, the noise of the crowd filled the enclosure but Valkyrie didn't care if it was friendly or not. She had a job to do, might as well get started.

She clicked her fingers, summoning a fireball that she hurled at the gigantic dragon. It wasn't the best tactic in the world but for her plan to work she needed the dragon to be away from the eggs so as she had a clear aim. She didn't wait to see whether it had hit the dragon but dived to avoid the jet of flame that she knew would burst from it mouth. White hot flames liked around the rock that she was taking cover behind.

As soon as the flames were cut off she was up again, forgoing fire she skipped straight to shadows. Curling her fist she sent a wave of dark shadows slamming into the creatures face. It roared and opened its mouth, a lance of flames bursting from it. The crowd screamed as the flames enveloped her. Bagman was shouting along with the crowd. But what they couldn't see was that the flames were coiling around her, diverted as she held up her hands as Skulduggery had taught her.

For a second time the flames died, the dragon probably thought it had vanquished its foe. Valkyrie didn't give it a chance to react and slammed a wave of shadows into its face.

"Merlin's Beard!" Bagman cried as Valkyrie sent another fistful of shadows at the dragon. It staggered back, giving Valkyrie a clear view of its eggs. A cluster of regular eggs surrounded a glittering golden egg that sat proudly in the centre of the nest. But she couldn't go for it now. She needed the dragon to be further away otherwise she would be trampled before the keepers got anywhere near it. Splaying her hand she knocked the egg out of the nest, sending it rocketing towards the far wall of the enclosure. Now all she had to do was get the dragon out of the -

Out of nowhere, the creature's great tail swung towards Valkyrie and slammed into her side. She cried out in pain as was sent flying, crashing into one wall of the enclosure. But instead of finishing the attack the dragon waited, warily, its yellow eyes fixed on her. Valkyrie moaned, pain filling her mind but she forced herself to her feet much to the dragon's displeasure. It roared at being cheated of its kill. Valkyrie splayed her hand, air slammed into its tail as it swung around for another go.

Flames burst from its mouth once more, Valkyrie throwing up a wall of shadow to absorb them. She followed up the block with another wave of shadows that crashed into the creatures open mouth. There was a howl of pain and then the dragon charged. But Valkyrie was already sprinting away, propelling herself over the rocks that had once provided her cover. The dragon ploughed straight through them, its gaping mouth snapped at Valkyrie. She didn't stop, she didn't look around, she just took her chance and prayed to that this worked and let the shadows envelop her as Wreath had shown her.

Suddenly she was on the other side of the enclosure, only feet away from the egg. But the dragon had changed course, a roar filling the enclosure as it sent of jet of flame at Valkyrie. She dived, reaching for the egg, the flames filling the area that she had been in only seconds before. Her hands wrapped around its golden surface and there was a cheer from the crowd.

"She's done it!" Bagman yelled, beside himself. "Miss Cain has done it!"

But that didn't stop the dragon. Its keepers had rushed in as soon as she had touched the egg, summoning chains and ropes but the dragon but it lashed out, sending two of them flying as its tail slammed into them before charging again at Valkyrie. She cursed, stumbling to her feet, dropping the egg and freeing up her hands. The stadium was filled with screams, a shout high above her a voice she recognised, Skulduggery's voice. There was a gunshot but the bullet skimmed off the dragon harmlessly as it bore down on Valkyrie. She lashed out with a stream of shadows, panic and fear fuelling magic. The dragon howled as the shadows crashed into the side of its face, right in its yellow eye. The crowd roared with delight as it slammed into the ground.

The dragon-keepers hurried to the dragon, binding it in all manner of ropes and binds. The crowd was on their feet, cheering, applauding, but Valkyrie didn't care. Over at the entrance she could see Skulduggery hurrying towards her, his gun still in his hand. She grinned before retrieving the egg that she had dropped and making her way to the exit.

"Never," Skulduggery said as he put away his gun. "Do that again."

Madam Pomfrey came to meet them, hurrying out of a second, smaller tent her lined face marred with worry.

"Dragons!" she screeched, clearly disgusted. She yanked Valkyrie inside the tent. Inside were several cubicles, only one was occupied and whoever was inside didn't seem that badly injured, they were sitting up and talking to someone. "You're lucky to be alive, attacking a dragon like that, what were you thinking?"

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, the tip flaring blue as she ran it over Valkyrie's body. Valkyrie was then ordered onto the bed and told remove her shirt so that Madam Pomfrey could examine her ribs which, unfortunately for Valkyrie, had been cracked when the dragon had slammed her into the wall. Madam Pomfrey began to apply a mint green paste to her ribs, muttering all the while about how irresponsible the school had been bringing in dragons. Thanks to the adrenaline Valkyrie hadn't felt a thing but she knew she would pay for it later.

"That should do it," Madam Pomfrey said as Valkyrie buttoned up her shirt. "But give it a moment to finish its work. Then you can go and get your scores."

Valkyrie waited a moment, letting Madam Pomfrey bustle off, before sliding off the bed and rejoining Skulduggery who was waiting at the mouth of the tent, his phone in his hand.

"I was just letting Erskine know how you got on," he explained as he pocketed the phone. "He says that next time you should give the dragon a fighting chance."

Valkyrie laughed and together she and Skulduggery made their way to the edge of the enclosure. Now that there was no dragon obscuring her view Valkyrie could see where the six judges were sitting. Ghastly had been forced into his Elder robes, Skulduggery explained that as he was representing the Sanctuary he had to wear the official clothing.

"Each of them are giving you marks out of ten," Skulduggery told her. "The highest so far was forty-nine."

"Who got that?" Valkyrie asked, but it wasn't Skulduggery who answered.

"Me," Harry said as he and Ron joined them at the edge of the enclosure. Valkyrie smiled at them both, not mentioning Ron's sudden presence. The task must have bought him to his senses. She was glad, she hadn't wanted to hit him. "Though I don't think I'll be top for much longer. That was amazing."

The French Headmistress, Madame Maxime was first. She held up her wand and a long sliver ribbon shot out of the end. The ribbon twisted and curled into a large number nine. Crouch followed suit, another nine. Then Dumbledore, his blue eyes twinkling, shot another nine into the air.

The crowd was cheering louder and louder, all old hatreds seemed to have been forgotten. Everyone was on their feet. It was amazing how fickle some people were. Amongst the Gryffindor supporters Valkyrie could see the Weasley Twins, who gave her a joint thumbs up.

Bagman too shot out a nine.

"They must be taking off points because you got hurt," Skulduggery mused as Karkaroff raised his wand, an evil little smile on his face.

"Five!" Harry and Ron yelled together clearly furious at the result. They weren't the only ones, the crowd was booing loudly causing Karkaroff's smile to falter under the insults that were being flung his way by the angry crowd.

Ghastly came next and unlike the other judges, as he didn't have a wand, he help up a bone white card with his score written on in black. Ten. The crowd went wild, applause filled the stands, even Harry and Ron were cheering. Skulduggery clapping along side, he didn't cheer, it wasn't dignified. That put her two points up on Harry. She was in first place.

"Fred and George are going to be a nightmare," Ron moaned when the crowd had died down. "They bet Malfoy fifty galleons each that you'd come top. The big-headed git gave them five to one odds."

"Serves him right," Valkyrie said.

"Told you I wouldn't stay first for long," Harry grinned, if that had been anyone else they would have been bitter, or at least annoyed that they had been knocked off the top spot. But Harry, like her, hadn't entered his name for this stupid contest, he was just trying to survive. "C'mon, Bagman wants a word with us."

Skulduggery agreed to wait with Ron, who looked a bit uneasy at being left with the Skeleton Detective. So, together, she and Harry re-entered the tent. Soon after the other three champions came in together all looking a lot happier now that they had gotten past their dragon. Fleur was back to her usually beautiful self, giving Diggory a radiant smile. Diggory's face was half covered in a thick orange paste that was probably healing some kind of burn or wound that the dragon had inflicted on him. But he grinned at Harry, looking happier than Valkyrie had ever seen him.

"Good one, Harry," Diggory said.

"And you,"

"Well done all of you," Bagman beamed as he bounced into the tent. "Now, you all have a good long break before the next task, which will take place on February the twenty-fourth. Now, the egg, I'm sure you're all wondering why you had to collect them. See the hinges there, on the side. When opened the eggs will give you a clue that, when solved, will tell you what the Second Task is. So you've all got plenty to be doing, I'm sure. That all clear? Well, of you go, then!"

And with that Harry and Valkyrie left the tent, being rejoined by Ron and Skulduggery before leaving the Forest. It was over. Harry had started asking if either Sulduggery or Valkyrie had fought anything like a dragon before, which, of course, set skulduggery off. He was about to begin regaling them with the story of how he and Valkyrie had fought a werewolf when a witch leapt out of the trees infront of them.

Skulduggery had his gun in his hand and Valkyrie summoned a flame before either of them realised who it was standing before them in horrible, acid green robes. Rita Skeeter, a twig in her dyed blonde hair and a mud stain on the sleeve of her robes. Valkyrie dowsed the flame and Skulduggery lowered his gun, though he didn't put it away.

"What," he began, an edge to his voice. "Do you want?"

"To give Harry my congratulations," Skeeter said with a clearly forced smile. "That was a fantastic performance, Harry. How do you feel about the scoring and your competition?"

"They were all great,"

"Even the performance of your... companion here?"

"I have a name," Valkyrie snapped, wishing that she had thrown her fireball rather than let the flames go out.

"That was a very controversial performance, don't you agree, Harry?" Skeeter asked quickly, not even glancing at Valkyrie. "How do you feel knowing that she used some very, unusual magic that some of my readers would consider -"

"I know you weren't going to imply that my partner is using Dark Magic,"

"And what if I was?" Skeeter asked defiantly, glaring at Skulduggery. "The public has a right to know. This sorcery that you practise is wrong, Pleasant, wrong."

"Then I'm sure that they also have the right to know about how you get your stories."

"You wouldn't."

"I would," Skulduggery said, towering over Skeeter. "Leave Valkyrie alone."

And with that they set off towards the castle without even a backwards glance.


	6. Informant

Chapter Five: Informant

_The office looked ordinary, full of horrible paintings and enclosed in glass. The perfect place for a secret meeting. It was totally unassuming, mortals streamed in and out of the building talking about their ever day, boring lives. The man with the golden eyes stared out of the office watching the many mortals. Soon magic would be revealed. Soon they wouldn't have to suffer the mortal's presence. The plan was on track. Sanctuary's around the world were preparing for all out war. The Irish Sanctuary, which teetering on the edge of crisis year after year, had been too close to falling this time. Soon allies would become foes and war would take hold of the world. But there was only one problem that needed to be dealt with. Pleasant and Cain. They could not be allowed to live. But that was being taken care of. _

"_You are sure you can trust him?" Madame Mist, her veil in place, asked from behind him._

"_Quite the opposite," the man with the golden eyes said with a thin lipped smile. It was all falling into place. One by one the pieces were slotting together, soon Cain would lie dead and Pleasant, either he would fall or kill Voldemort. Either way Pleasant would no longer be a threat. Dead or consumed by grief it did not matter, the result was the same. Then nothing would stand in their way. "But his thirst for power defines him and it is something I can rely upon."_

"_And if he doesn't kill Cain?" Mist asked. "What then?"_

"_He will. Cain and Pleasant must fall before I reveal who Darquesse truly is to him. That is the deal."_

"_They have dealt with worse,"_

"_With the support of the Sanctuary," the man said. "But Ravel and Bespoke will have other issues to deal with. Cain and Pleasant will be isolated and there is nothing that they can do to stop us."_

"_If you are wrong everything we have planned will be for nothing. They need to die."_

"_They will, do not worry. Everything is going according to plan. My informant in the castle would tell me otherwise."_

"_Yes," a voice from the doorway said, heels clicking against the floor as she entered the room. "I would."_

_Mist turned and stared at the woman, eyeing the fiercely curled hair and horrid crocodile skin handbag clasped in a pink nailed hand. There was a tight lipped smile that didn't reach the hard blue eyes. _

"_Madame, allow me to introduce you to my eyes in the castle."_

_The woman extended her hand, bony with a complete set of perfect pink nails that were finished to a gleam._

"_Rita Skeeter."_


	7. Shindig

**AN: Okay, so first off, thank you all of those people who have favourited, followed and reviewed this story it means a lot. This is going to be my last chapter for a little while, so I hope you all like it. Exams are causing mayhem. So sorry for that but thank you all for the support on this story, it's been great! If anyone wants to get in contact with me about this story feel free to PM or leave a review. Again, thank you all, hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Six: Shindig

Skulduggery's threat seemed to have worked. After the First Task Skeeter's account had barely mentioned Valkyrie and while it hadn't been what she would call flattering it hadn't been insulting either. In fact, Skeeter had glossed over Valkyrie's performance. She turned her attention instead on Harry, taking out the anger she felt for Valkyrie on a completely new target. This time, however, the students of Hogwarts supported their own, apart from Slytherin. After his performance Harry had earned the respect of the students and as such Skeeter's words fell on deaf ears.

December meant only one thing to Valkyrie, cold. Hogwarts was draughty as it was without ice cold winds blowing through the Entrance Hall every time someone was stupid enough to open the huge oak doors. It was worse than Haggard, which was saying something as the small coastal tone was blasted by freezing cold winds from the sea. She didn't envy the Durmstrang or Beauxbaton students who were basically living in the Grounds protected by nothing but wood. But the castle wasn't much better. Valkyrie had taken to walking around in her protective clothing which kept her heat regulated.

Her days, ever since the end of the First Task, had become rather dull. Now that she wasn't training for anything and the Second Task was months away. She was becoming bored cooped up in the castle. To make matters worse Skulduggery had been called away on Sanctuary business, a series of murders in Ireland that bore the hallmarks of an insane serial killer with an adept magic the like of which Ravel had never seen before. He was probably having a great time.

Her new friends, however, did help to pass the time when they weren't in lessons. Ever since the First Task she and Harry had grown closer, both having shared the experience of facing a huge fire-breathing dragon that could kill you as soon as look at you did have something to do with it. But it wasn't just that. Now that Ron was back Harry was smiling more, he was more fun to be around, laughing and joking. Of course, they couldn't spend that much time together. It wasn't like he had replaced Skulduggery, or anything like that, but at least he was someone she could talk to at mealtimes.

The only person in Harry's small group that didn't get along with Valkyrie was Hermione, though Valkyrie didn't see how it was her fault. Hermione had taken a disliking to her from the off, probably something to do with her complete disregard for rules, authority figures and generally having fun. Valkyrie had tried to make friends with her but she had given up after the fifth time. Hermione was just too strict for Valkyrie to get along with. Constantly doing homework or pestering Harry and Ron to do theirs and God forbid they break a rule. She had gone beside herself when Valkyrie had smuggled food into the library. The real world really would be a shock to Hermione. Nothing was that black and white or at least it wasn't when Skulduggery was around.

Of course, there were other reasons why Valkyrie's temper was becoming shorter and shorter as the days went on. The damn egg. The wailing, moaning, shrill egg that did nothing but shriek no matter what she did to it. Throwing it across her room, burning it, she'd even tried leaving it to wail to see if it was a matter of patience but after two minutes she'd already lost patience, nothing worked. Whatever the clue was it wasn't going to reveal itself any time soon. Every time she looked at it she missed Skulduggery. He would have been able to solve it.

Harry wasn't fairing any better, which was something at least, it'd be embarrassing being the only one who hadn't solved it when she was supposedly a detective. Though, suspects didn't generally wail waiting for you to figure out what their incessant wailing meant. There was a lot more hitting, talking and quips involved and definitely a lot less wailing.

"Miss Cain!" McGonagall shouted striding towards Valkyrie through the slowly emptying Great Hall. The rest of the students were flitting off towards their various lessons. Valkyrie had taken the opportunity to lie in, it felt like years since she had been allowed to just lie in, and amble down to breakfast a few minutes before it ended. "There you are, as Mister Bespoke and Detective Pleasant are currently unavailable the task has fallen to inform you of the Yule Ball has fallen to me."

"What kind of ball?" Valkyrie asked a little surprised at McGonagall's sudden appearance. "Wait, is this a dance thing?"

"Yes, Miss Cain. The Yule Ball is a traditional event that takes place during the Triwizard Tournament. It gives us the opportunity to socialise with our foreign guests. Each of the champions and their partners are expected to attend."

"I have to come? With a partner?"

"Yes, Miss Cain, you do. It is traditional that the champions conduct the opening dance with their partners. The ball will be taking place on Christmas Day at eight o'clock, do not be late."

And with that Professor McGonagall strode off leaving a stunned Valkyrie in the Great Hall as platefuls of food began to disappear around her. She had been tempted to point out that her very presence was against tradition but McGonagall had left before she had been able to. She groaned. She hated dancing. She wasn't that fond of make-up and dressing up, she wasn't overly fond of small talk and making nice with a bunch of people she didn't know or want to know.

News of the Yule Ball spread like wild fire across the halls of Hogwarts. Everyone was talking about it, girls giggling as they discussed who they wanted to ask them and a few guys with cocky smiles would saunter over to a group and ask a girl, often with much giggling and occasional screaming from some of the more annoying girls who more often than not could be seen exchanging notes on dresses and boys. Some people looked queasy at the very idea of asking somebody to a dance. Others were more than willing as Valkyrie discovered only the lunchtime after McGonagall had told her about the ball.

Ever since her performance at the First Task she had gained the respect and admiration of more than a few of the Hogwarts, Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students. Her status as champion only made matters worse. About five different people asked her whether or not she would go to the ball with them. One looked like a troll, another seemed to be about twelve and three of them had quoted Skeeter's article at her before she had threatened Smith. Surprisingly she turned every single one down.

Harry was sharing a similar fate, thanks to his celebrity fame and the fact he was a champion he attracted more girls than Valkyrie had attracted men. A group of giggling Hufflepuffs practically begged him to go with one of them at dinner. Flustered and embarrassed Harry stared at them in sheer shock for a good few seconds before politely refusing their offers. It had been rather embarrassing, especially after he had to endure teasing from Ron and his two dorm-mates whose names Valkyrie couldn't remember.

But the champion that was getting the worst of it was Fleur, closely followed by Krum. The two could often be seen with small packs of the opposite gender following them, egging each other on to ask the champion of their desire. It was kind of sad, boys drooling over Fleur and girls giggling as the stalked Krum. Fleur she could understand but Krum? He wasn't even good looking. It was only when Ron explained that Krum was one of the best Quidditch players in the world that Valkyrie understood. Some girls really were shallow.

But as the weeks dragged by Valkyrie was not only getting sick of hearing about the Yule Ball but also preparing herself for the fact that she would actually have to accept somebody's offer. She had been hoping to go with Skulduggery but it didn't look as though he was returning any time soon. The investigation wasn't progressing anywhere near as quickly as Valkyrie would have liked.

"Got a date, yet?" Fred Weasley asked Valkyrie as he and George joined her in the Great Hall which was being magically decorated by the tiny Professor Flitwick. The teachers were making a considerable effort to impress their guests. The decorations were ridiculously outlandish. Ever-lasting icicles on the banisters of the marble staircase, luminous holly and tiny hooting owls that perched on several of the twelve trees that had been lugged in from outside by Hagrid

"No,"

"You'd better hurry up," Fred said, piling food onto his plate. "Only a few weeks to left before the big day and you can't go alone."

"I don't plan on it. It's just no-one I want to go with has asked me yet, that's all."

"What about that Durmstrang bloke with the jaw and the huge eyebrows?"

"He couldn't say my name. I'm not spending a night teaching the idiot to say it just so he can forget it the next day."

"The French guy with the wavy hair?"

"He put his hand on my leg!"

"So that's why he had a black eye, we were wondering." Fred said, grinning. "But you've got to find someone, Val."

It was at that moment that the Great Hall doors were thrown open and Skulduggery Pleasant strode in. His hands in his pockets, his hat cocked at a perfect angle. A smile pulled at the edges of her lips, looked like she didn't have to find a date after all. At least that meant she could finally tell the sixth year that had been pestering her for almost a day: no.

"I'm back." Skulduggery announced happily, expecting some kind of heroes greeting maybe.

"You were gone?" Valkyrie said with a smile. He huffed good-naturedly and took the empty seat beside her. It was good to have him back beside her, she really had missed him. It had been almost boring without him. "How was the case?"

"It went well," Skulduggery told her. "I got into several fights, arrested a murderer and was ambushed by a troll. It was all very brave and daring. Admit it, I'm brilliant."

"If I do will you shut up?"

"Almost certainly," Skulduggery replied.

"Then, okay, fine, you're brilliant, happy?"

"Delighted," Skulduggery said a smile in his velvet voice. "Now, what is this I hear about you punching another boy in the face?"

"He touched my leg!" Valkyrie snapped for the second time that day, glowering at the twins as they chortled into their dinner. "He was asking for it! Besides, I only hit him once, it's no big deal."

"How do you expect to get a date if you hit every boy who asks you?" Skulduggery asked. "And, judging from the lack of any good looking boy around here, I assume you were waiting for me to come back so as I can escort you to the ball."

"You do know how arrogant that sounds, right?"

"It doesn't stop me being right," Skulduggery chuckled as Valkyrie glowered at him. "But yes, I accept your gracious and most eloquent offer, Valkyrie. I shall go to the ball with you."

Now that Skulduggery had returned, boasting about his adventure much to Valkyrie's annoyance for at least three days, the weeks before Christmas blended together in a blur. Training recommenced almost immediately and, once again, Valkyrie was visiting the Hospital Wing on a regular basis. She was sure Pomfrey had designated her a bed for her over-night stops as she always seemed to have the same view out onto the lake, which was something pretty special to wake up to.

The egg's clue was still eluding Valkyrie, much to the continued delight of Skulduggery who kept insisting that he had already solved it thanks to only a single night's work. He only shut up when she threatened to throw it at him. Though, Harry had yet to solve it either, so that was something. Everybody was too side-tracked by the Yule Ball to even contemplate the egg.

Thanks to the constant training, friendly conversation at the Gryffindor table and the occasional barb with Malfoy, Valkyrie was able to distract herself from Christmas. The one time of year she wanted more than anything to be at home. To listen to Alice squeal happily as she opened her presents, with a large amount of gleeful aid from her dad, she wanted the presents, the hugs, the family meal, even the forced trip round Beryl's. She missed it. She wanted it. But she was trapped in the castle with no way out. No way to her folks or Alice. The guilt gnawed at her mind but generally she was able to push it down even with the needlessly colourful decorations and chatter, except for one very special morning.

Christmas Morning.

A small part of her had expected to wake up in her own bed, in her own house, in own country and even bigger part had wished it possible. She had dreamt of waking to her dad's tuneless singing of Christmas carols, her mom correcting him on the words as she cradled Alice in her arms. Instead she was greeted with Hogwarts. A castle that could never be home. She stayed in bed for a moment, savouring the dream before it was lost, letting the memories of her others Christmas days wash over her. She could have stayed there forever had it not been for the knock on the door.

Sighing she got up, threw on her jacket, clambered into her jeans, which moments before had lain on the floor, and opened the door to see Skulduggery a present in gloved hands.

"Merry Christmas," he said, false enthusiasm in his voice. He still wasn't in love with Christmas, despite the mountain of Christmas films she had made him sit through.

"You too," Valkyrie said, taking her present and heading back into her room. She hated being stuck in the castle. Christmas was a time for family and for being sentimental. It was definitely not a time for being locked away in a castle in Scotland.

"That was grumpy," Skulduggery pointed out, his false enthusiasm replaced by gentle concern. "I thought you love Christmas."

"I do," Valkyrie replied, falling back onto her bed, toying with the bow of her present as she spoke. "Normally. It's just, it's this place, it's Christmas here. It's not the same. Right now I should be with Alice waking mom and dad up or watching dad get over-excited by a set of diamond socks or something. Something that isn't this."

"We've never had the best luck in the world, Valkyrie." Skulduggery said, joining her on the bed. "But look on the bright side -"

"There's a bright side?"

"Indeed there is, you get to have the most handsome and dashing partner for tonight out of the entire school, you've got more than just my present to open and -"

"What other presents?"

"Have you actually looked around your room?"

Valkyrie was about to remark when her eyes fell on what he was looking at. At the foot of her bed sat a small bound of very bright, very festive presents. Curiosity getting the better of her she picked one up, frowning, only for that frown to be replaced by a grin. Harry. Underneath were presents from the Weasley twins, one each and Ron, Hermione was absent and long, thin box from Ghastly.

Okay, she hadn't been expecting that.

"See, everything's not so bad after all," Skulduggery said, a smile in his voice. "Now, are you going to open my present or do I have to tell you what it is?"

"Is it a stick?" Valkyrie asked as she tore open the neatly wrapped present.

"No," Skulduggery told her. "It's not a stick, it's better than a stick. They're for tonight, actually."

It was, but then, that wasn't hard. Inside laid a pair of elegant black shoes. They were perfect. Not too high to be crippling but not so small they looked stupid. They looked like something she'd seen China wear. Valkyrie wasn't obsessed with shoes but she had to admit they far better than going to the Yule Ball in her boots, she hadn't really packed heels thinking she'd need boots and trainers. A ball hadn't been on the agenda. She wished it wasn't.

She threw Skulduggery his present, a new tie, before delving into the unexpected presents at the foot of her bed. The Weasley twins had both given her a vast array of merchandise from the joke shop in the village. Hair remover, dungbombs and a very long, lethal looking instrument, maybe it was a wizarding thing. Ron had given her a box of Chocolate Frog's and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Then came Harry's. A silver frame fell out of the light blue package when she tore it open. Valkyrie arched an eyebrow before picking it up. Inside the frame was a black and white photograph, a moving photograph of her and the dragon. She watched for a moment as the tiny photographic version of herself dodged and ducked as the dragon sent out jets of flame before reading the inscription at the bottom of the frame: _Valkyrie Cain. Dragon Slayer. _

A smile came to her lips as she set it on her bedside table before picking up her last present. Black wrapping paper with a deep blue ribbon, unlike the others she opened it carefully, not wanting to rip with neatly wrapped paper of Ghastly's present.

"Wow,"

Underneath the wrapping paper lay what could only be a Bespoke dress. Sublime, elegant and extraordinarly beautiful, it was perfect, beyond perfect. Ghastly had outdone himself. Unlike her dress for the Requiem Ball it was dark blue with black detailing that spanned around the waist, circling and spiralling, lightly shimmering with tiny black crystals. It was far better than the one and only black dress she had owned a long time ago when she had had to go the family reunion. Though, she hoped she didn't have to fight vampires in this one. Underneath lay a note, in Ghastly's handwriting:_ I thought we'd go for a bit of colour_.

After hanging her dress away, ready for the stupid ball, Skulduggery and Valkyrie made their way to the Great Hall which was just as crowded as usual, nobody seemed to have gone home for the holidays, preferring to stay for the ball instead. Why Valkyrie had no idea. She thanked Harry, Ron, Fred and George for their presents, saying she'd buy them something later in return as she hadn't been expecting any. Though she gave them fair warning they'd probably be awful, after all she had inherited her dad's awful gift buying.

The highlight of the build up to the ball was the afternoon, after a huge lunch, she, Harry and the Weasley's had the biggest snowball fight she had ever had. Skulduggery had gone off to do research, refusing to join in, just like Hermione who watched from the sidelines before leaving a few hours in to prepare for the ball. Three hours early. Valkyrie used the distraction to lift a huge wave of snow, thanks to her magic, on top of Ron, much to the pleasure of the Weasley twins.

At seven they trudged back inside, Ron still shivering and complaining about the amount of snow Valkyrie had trapped him under for a good five minutes. Valkyrie quickly showered before changing into her dress and applying, however badly, minimal amounts of makeup. After a quick check for bruises, scars or any other wound that she might have, she arrived at Skulduggery's room, fifteen minutes later than planned.

"I often wonder if you have a sense of time," Skulduggery commented as he closed the door to his room behind him. He was wearing a black tuxedo that was, if possible, even better than the one she had previously seen him in. He wore a matching black hat and gloves along with a deep blue tie that went with her dress.

"You can't rush perfection," Valkyrie said with a shrug as they began to head towards the Great Hall. "How'd your boring day of research go, by the way?"

"I can't find anyone who links you and Harry," Skulduggery said, frustration tinting his voice. "Nobody we know has even heard of him and the only threat to him is Voldemort who doesn't even know you exist, unless he reads the papers though I suppose a self-confessed Dark Lord will have better things to do with his time."

"Plan how to end the world, maybe."

"Or how to rule it," Skulduggery said. "If he wanted to end it he would have done. He wants control, power, dominance, he doesn't want to end life, he wants to rule it."

"I'm guessing it wouldn't be fun,"

"When magic dominates it's rarely fun,"

"But he's dead, right?"

"Not totally," Skulduggery told her as they descended the marble staircase. "From what I've heard he's not dead, he's not alive either, at least not in traditional sense. He wants Harry dead and he's tried hard over the past few years to see it happen. I doubt this year is any different."

"Maybe it is him but then. You said it yourself this Voldemort guy has been out for Harry for years. Say he had a plan to kill Harry and someone who wants to see me dead got wind of it and, I don't know, offered him something or joined forces. Like Sanguine's little Revenger's Club."

"It's possible but lot harder to prove."

"When is it ever easy?"

"I can hope," Skulduggery muttered as they descended into the packed Great Hall. Students dressed in a range of dress robes, colours filling the usually drab Great Hall. Dates were milling around together and a few people were fighting their way through the crowd to meet with dates from other houses. Near the doors of the Great Hall stood the other champions, complete with dates and dress robes. McGonagall was hovering nearby dressed in tartan robes and wearing a stressed look on her stern face. So much for fun.

The students seemed to part as she and Skulduggery made their way across the hall, all eyes were on Skulduggery, clearly the students weren't yet used to him. The majority of the champions ignored Valkyrie as she and Skulduggery approached. Fleur was too busy lapping up the attention she was getting from her date, who seemed amazed at his good luck. Krum was focused far too much on his own date, a girl that Valkyrie vaguely recognised in light blue robes. Diggory was grinning happily at his date, an Asian girl a couple of years younger than him. In fact only Harry noticed her, giving her a wave and a brief smile as his date began playing with her bangles.

"Good," McGonagall said with a sigh of relief when Valkyrie and Skulduggery made it across the Great Hall. "You are here, you'll be going inside in a minute, we just have to wait for everybody else to take their places then the champions will enter."

It took a surprisingly long time for people to enter the Great Hall, mainly because nobody could find their dates in the dense crowd of students. Valkyrie spent the time talking to Harry and Krum's date, who it turned out much to Valkyrie's surprise, was Hermione. Underneath makeup, straight hair and a posture that wasn't encumbered by a school bag that could kill people it was dropped from sufficient height was indeed Hermione. The atmosphere of the ball seemed to have relaxed Hermione, the disapproving scowl that usually settled on her face when she saw Valkyrie was gone and for the first time in a month they actually had a conversation without awkward pauses and forced conversation from Harry.

Finally, McGonagall ushered the champions into the Great Hall, getting them into a line with their respective partners before marching them into the Great Hall. Applause filled the hall as they entered, it did little to help Skulduggery's over inflated ego. The house tables were gone, there place taken by smaller, round tables lit by lanterns. Valkyrie had to resist waving as Malfoy glared at her. Apparently his drop in reputation after their little fight had caused his shallow girlfriend to ditch him, leaving him dateless for the ball. There really was such a thing as karma.

They took their seats at the top table with the judges, Valkyrie joining a tired looking Ghastly. The teetering position of the Sanctuary was evidently taking its toll on the ex-tailor but he smiled warmly when he saw Valkyrie and Skulduggery.

"Thanks for the dress, Ghastly." Valkyrie said as she sat down, Skulduggery taking the seat on her other side. "It's amazing."

"It looks good on you," Ghastly smiled. "One of my finer works, even if I do say so myself."

"Your Holiness has excellent taste," Skulduggery chimed in.

"Do you have to make fun of me in front of all of these people?"

"It's part of the fun," Skulduggery said. "Though we can make fun of you in private you prefer, your Eminence."

"I'd rather you didn't at all," Ghastly muttered. "It's been nice, these last two months. Nobody mocking me, it's been like a holiday."

"You're telling me that you missed out on the opportunity when you left me here?"

"I was trying to catch a serial killer, Valkyrie. Besides, Erskine was a far better target."

Ghastly chuckled and picked up his menu. "He still hates you for that, by the way. He says he'll never forgive you for ruining his date."

"It was his fault, not mine."

"When is it ever your fault?" Ghastly asked as he looked down at the menu, deciding on his choice. Valkyrie mirrored his actions, the glittering golden plate was empty but no doubt there was some cool spell that would summon the food. She hoped so. She was starving.

"Pork chops!" Dumbledore said clearly, from further down the table. An instant later pork chops appeared on his plate. Valkyrie followed suit and soon she was digging into a plate stacked high with rich food. There was nothing like a turkey dinner on Christmas day.

They soon started discussing the situation back in Ireland. Apparently the Sanctuary was preparing for war, but as quietly as possible. Anything that would tip the already upset balance internationally could spark the fighting that they wanted to avoid. But they also didn't want to be caught unprepared, not after the Supreme Council's sudden appearance in Spring. Though Ghastly refused to go into detail on the plan, not when they were so many people around. They couldn't afford a leak, not now.

More than ever Valkyrie wanted to be back in Ireland. With invasion imminent both she and Skulduggery were needed, now more than ever. Whoever had orchestrated this had removed her from play before it had even started. There was something bigger going on, something bigger than the stupid Tournament. She shouldn't be at a ball full of people she barely knew, she should be out there, fighting. It was her job. Whoever was behind this was going to pay, she knew that much.

When everyone had finished eating Dumbledore stood up, a smile on his old face. With a wave of his wand the tables were banished and a stage conjured up against the right wall. Drums, a lute, several guitars and annoyingly a set of bagpipes all sat on it ready to be played. She hated bagpipes. A set of witches trooped onto the stage, their black robes ripped and torn in several places. Artfully, of course. Valkyrie knew the difference, if they had been in a fight the rips would show a lot more flesh and not conveniently stop so as the Weird Sisters could keep their modesty.

Applause filled the hall, some people even whooping as the Weird Sister's took up their instruments. Valkyrie had to resist groaning. She knew what was coming next. Dancing. Bloody dancing. Not bothering to look happy she followed Skulduggery and the others onto the brightly lit dance floor as the Weird Sister's struck up a mournful tune, something to match her mood. She hated dancing. Skulduggery took her hand in his own and she rest her other on his bony waist.

"Can we leave yet?" Valkyrie asked threw gritted teeth Skulduggery guided her gracefully around the dance floor. Unlike almost everyone else, who had partners very unaccustomed to dancing, he didn't step on her feet. At least Skulduggery had grace.

"I'm afraid not," Skulduggery said as the passed Moody, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher with the wooden leg. Valkyrie couldn't shake the feeling that he was watching them, his magical eyes felt somehow fixed on her. It was creepy. "You have to finish at least one dance, Valkyrie. It's in the rules."

"Since when do you follow the rules?"

"Rarely, but occasionally, I find it refreshing."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"The dancing? No. Watching you squirm? Now I am enjoying that immensely."

"I hate you,"

"Your witty repertoire is astounding,"

Valkyrie glared at him and he chuckled slightly as the last quivering note sounded from the horrible bagpipe. Valkyrie sighed in relief and let go of Skulduggery. Applause echoed around them once more but she didn't join in, instead she moved off the dance floor, thankful that it was finally over. Skulduggery joined her, seemingly unperturbed as she threw herself down into an empty chair.

Skulduggery was about to sit down when his phone rang, he took it out, checking who was calling and sighed.

"I'll be back in a minute," he told Valkyrie before hitting the answer button and striding away, probably so he could hear whoever was on the other end. When Skulduggery didn't return moments later Valkyrie went for a walk herself, intent on finding drinks. Though when she never managed to reach the bar. As she fought her way through the crowd she felt someone's fingers dug painfully into her arm, the sharp metal of a blade pressed into her back.

"Hello, li'l darlin', did you miss me?" said an all too familiar voice.

Billy-Ray Sanguine.


	8. Old Enemies

**AN: Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going to be posting anything for a while but I felt quite mean leaving it on a cliffhanger. So I've written this for the many people who have reviewed the last chapter, a record amount for this story, who wanted more because of the cliffhanger. This was meant to be part of a larger chapter but I didn't want to leave everybody on tenterhooks for weeks. That said this will be the last for a while. Until I can start writing again. I want to thank everyone who has commented, faved or followed, you guys are all amazing and this is for all you. Hope you enjoy. **

Chapter Seven: Old Enemies

"What the hell are you doing here?" Valkyrie demanded as Sanguine's blade dug deeper into her back, pressing into the soft material of her dress. If she had been wearing anything else that Ghastly had made for her the knife wouldn't concern her, as it was she could feel every tiny movement that blade made. It made her blood run cold. Where the hell was Skulduggery?

"What, I can't just be here to say hi, ask how you are, and reminisce on old times? You sayin' that ain't allowed?"

"Not when you've got a knife in my back,"

"I can understand that, well, it's a good thing I didn't come to do any of those things. Someone wants to see, darlin', and I've been told to come get you. A very special someone if you catch my drift."

"Tanith? But she's in a jail cell. You and your little band of psychopaths broke into the English Sanctuary and she got arrested."

"I hate to disappoint but that little bit of information ain't strictly speaking true, not anymore anyway. Why do you think old Mister Funnybones got a call? She's out and she wants to see you. Sorry I didn't come sooner but I had a bit of trouble findin' y'all. That was until I got a letter from a very important person. You've been upsetting all the wrong kinds of people, darlin', people who know all about people like me. I've got what you might call a reputation and when these people heard I was looking for you they were more than generous in me helping me find you."

"Who? Who told you?"

"Now you know I can't tell you that." Sanguine said with a small chuckle as he pushed her forward through the crowd. Nobody saw the blade that was pressed into her back and thanks to his sunglasses nobody saw the holes where Sanguine's eyes should have been. They were too busy laughing and dancing to notice that anything was wrong.

_Kill him. Do it. Kill him. _

Valkyrie felt herself tense, not now, God not now. But the fear that was pumping through her had sparked something inside, her something she didn't want to see the light of day. She ignored Sanguine, trying to push down Darquesse but she could feel her, hear the whispers that she had been fighting down for months. That part of her, the part that stayed locked away, was fighting to get out. Darquesse wanted blood.

_It would be so easy. It's not as if he doesn't deserve it. Do it. Let me out. Let me kill him._

"Shut up, just shut up."

_You're no fun. _

"But I wasn't saying anythin'." Sanguine pointed out with a frown and Valkyrie realised she'd spoken out loud. They were in the Entrance Hall. There were fewer people in there now, a couple of students who were bored of the music and sought other entertainments together and didn't care who saw.

"Do you think you can really get away with this?" Valkyrie asked, desperately trying to drown out that voice. She could feel herself trembling slightly, her hands shaking but she didn't dare let the panic show on her face. She wasn't about to give sanguine the satisfaction of thinking it was him that scared her. "When Skulduggery finds out what do you think will happen then?"

"Tanith's got a plan, don't you fret."

"A plan that involves her in shackles and you dead because that's what'll happen when Skulduggery finds out."

"I ain't afraid of him."

"You should be,"

_You should be more afraid of me._

Valkyrie felt Sanguine shove her outside, now they were clear of onlookers he was done being gentle. There were even less people out here, in the cool night air. The Grounds had been transformed into a delicate rose garden, what Valkyrie assumed were real fairies were glittering in the many rose bushes. They followed a winding path that led away from the castle, now and then they passed vast ornamental statues but Valkyrie was too preoccupied to notice what they actually were.

For whatever reason Sanguine needed to walk her out of the castle, maybe there were enchantments that blocked his ability to burrow or defences too dangerous to avoid under the ground. According to Vex he had his powers back and he wasn't afraid to use them. Whatever was protecting the castle was good. Though, it made sense that Sanguine wouldn't have been expecting it. After all, only a few people in their world knew about wizards.

They stopped when they reached a small clearing in the rose bushes. Many benches had been conjured to rest in front of the rose bushes. Frost, delicately applied, clung to the marble of the benches. Sanguine dragged her over to one and they sat down that blade still dangerously close to her spine. Valkyrie could feel her breathing becoming shallow, it was taking everything she had to keep Darquesse down ever since Argeddion it had been a lot harder to keep control.

"You know I've missed this." Sanguine said after a moment. "The quick talkin', the insults and the glarin', I didn't think I would but I have. I'm kind of missing the skeleton and his stupid jokes but you can't have everythin'. Am I right?"

Valkyrie was about to retort, to tell Sanguine to shut up, help get rid of some of the fear-fuelled anger that was building up inside her. But the words died on her lips as a figure dressed in brown leather stepped out of the darkness before her.

"Hey, Val." Tanith Low smiled, her face exactly how Valkyrie remembered. No black veins. No lips the colour of darkness. Just Tanith. But she wasn't Tanith. Not anymore, not after that Remnant had crawled inside her and taken control of her. It had grafted onto her soul and there was turning back, not anymore. Her friend was gone.

"I'm sorry to drag you out of your lovely ball, if I could I'd let you enjoy the evening, I really would but I'm on a bit of a timetable. You look amazing by the way, that's a great dress."

"What do you want, Tanith?" Valkyrie asked as her old friend approached, her blonde hair seeming to shine in the moonlight. But she had already guessed what Tanith wanted. The Remnants had wanted Darquesse, they knew who she was. No doubt Tanith had gotten bored of waiting. Maybe she thought she couldn't risk letting Valkyrie become Darquesse of her own free will or maybe she wanted Valkyrie close by for the fireworks. Tanith wanted Darquesse.

"Nothing much, I'm just tired of waiting, Val." Tanith replied. "Darquesse is close, I can feel her, I'm just asking for a little help in setting her free that's all."

"That's not going to happen."

"One way or the other will happen, Val. Might as well get it all over with. You'll enjoy what's coming, I know you will."

"I won't help you." Valkyrie said, but she could feel her voice shaking as Darquesse screamed, she wanted to be set free and Valkyrie was looking at the key to seeing it happen. But every second they wasted talking Skulduggery was getting nearer and nearer, he must have noticed she was gone by now. He'd be searching, looking for her.

"You will. You just don't know it yet."

"I'd never let Darquesse kill all those people. This future you want, I've seen it, I know what happens and I'm not going to let you set her free. She's going to tear the world apart."

"Not all of it, Val, only most of it." Tanith smiled. "And it's going to be beautiful."

But that smile vanished only moments later, Tanith wasn't looking at Valkyrie anymore but behind her at something Valkyrie couldn't see. The veins in her face turned black, her lips darkened and her eyes turned cold. Sanguine dragged Valkyrie back, twisting her round so as he could see what Tanith saw, that knife digging into her yet further, warm blood trickled down the inside of her dress but she didn't care, his fear could mean only one thing.

"Let her go." Skulduggery said, his voice cold, his gun pointed straight at Tanith's chest. Valkyrie had never been so pleased for his nick of time rescues before. Sanguine she might have been able to take if he didn't have that knife in her back but Tanith, there was no way she could take Tanith. "Now."

"What's in it for us?" Tanith asked her black lips twisting as she looked at Skulduggery.

"We'll get that Remnant out, cure you for good as for Sanguine, I can only promise I won't kill him."

"But I don't want to be cured, I like this."

"No you don't. The Tanith I knew would've hated being somebody's puppet. You can be her again, just let us help you."

"No, Skulduggery, I don't want help. Not from you or Ghastly or anyone. I'm happy like this. Being a bad guy is fun. I like it, I'm moving on with my life. You should be happy for me, isn't that what friends do? I'm happy like this and nothing you say is going to change that."

She slipped out of her jacket, her black lips forming a crazed smile. Skulduggery cursed under his breath, pulling back the hammer of his gun ready to fire.

"Last warning, Tanith, don't make me shoot you."

Tanith laughed, unsheathing her sword, it caught the moonlight, shining brighter than any of the fairies in the bushes beside them. She leapt and Skulduggery fired, but his bullet hit nothing but the bench she had been standing in front of. He dodged back as she landed before him, avoiding the blade and sending a fist into her jaw before going for a lock. But she was faster, spinning out of his grip and using her momentum to throw him over her hip sending him face first into a large statue. He cursed as the gun fell from his grip and she laughed again.

"Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough."

He splayed his palm, a wave of air crashed into her and she was sent tumbling, flipping in mid-air until landing on her feet, her face losing its smile and contorted into a snarl. She surged forwards but Skulduggery was quicker, ducking under the sword swing and sending a palm into her jaw. There was a cry of pain as Tanith went stumbling, it was all the distraction Valkyrie needed. She rammed her elbow into his face, pulling out of his grip and away from that blade.

She followed it up with a fistful of shadows, sending the Texan sprawling, his straight-razor falling to the ground. He dived for it but she splayed her hand, sending it skidding across the ground out of his reach. Swearing Sanguine lunged at her, his fist coming up to her face, too powerful for her block to have any effect. Her world rocked as pain exploded across her mind. She lashed out with a kick that caught Sanguine on the knee and he cried out as Valkyrie stumbled back, her heels catching on the hem of her dress. She cursed and kicked them off, hearing the dress tear as she did so.

Sanguine pressed forwards, ducking under the wave of shadows she sent his way before lashing out with a fist to her gut that sent her stumbling, the air forced from her lungs. The attack was followed by another swing that she batted down and countered with her own, swinging an elbow that he ducked under and before she had time to adjust he dove for her sending them both crashing to the ground. Her exposed flesh stung as they skidded across the gravel, if she'd been wearing her jacket it wouldn't have been a problem but a dress wasn't designed to protect her, it was designed to make her look good and she was paying for it.

She bucked and fought but Sanguine was on top, his weight pressed down on her keeping her pinned as he batted away her fumbled attacks before wrapping his fingers around her throat, digging them, choking her of her air. She tried to prise his fingers off her throat as her vision swam, her head going light as she fought for breath but found none, there was nothing there. Blackness was seeping into her vision now but she didn't stop fighting, she couldn't stop fighting. Pain was filling her mind, distant screaming filled her head, growing louder and louder as Sanguine's fingers dug deeper into her throat.

_Let me out!_

Valkyrie tried to dislodge Sanguine, desperately jerking underneath his grip. Something lodged under her, something sharp, metal, a blade. Sanguine's blade. Releasing his hands, she fumbled, searching for the blade under her, reaching for the handle. She felt it under her numbing fingers, her brain was shutting down but she fought through it, she had to. She wrapped her hand around it, getting a good grip, she only had one chance. Desperately she lunged, sinking the blade into Sanguine, not caring where as he roared with pain finally letting go.

She used the shadows to push him off her, gasping in a deep lungful of air as she scrambled away, clambering to her feet aware of Sanguine's cursing but she didn't care, she just focused on breathing and putting distance between her and Sanguine, feeling that sliver of coldness burning bright inside her. Darquesse had nearly been free, the pain calling to her, letting out. It had been too close, far too close.

Valkyrie turned away from Sanguine, the American was on the ground, gripping the handle of his blade as it stuck out from his leg, preparing to wrench the blade from his leg. He wasn't going anywhere. Not like Tanith. The blonde woman was flipping away from Skulduggery's attacks, her teeth bared as she ducked under his fist. She spun out his reach and then her blade flashed slicing his shirt open, he roared in pain and dropped.

Tanith laughed in glee but that laugh was cut short when Valkyrie sent a fistful of shadows into her back. There was a shriek of pain as Tanith was sent flying, flipping in mid-air, that unnatural grace making sure she landed on her feet her sword flashing in the moonlight, a snarl on her pretty face. Valkyrie splayed her palm but Tanith dodged and spun, swinging her sword. Valkyrie ducked away, sending a wave of shadows at Tanith but she was faster, avoiding the shadows and pressed her advantage, closing in on Valkyrie.

Valkyrie cursed, throwing herself out of the way of that sword, her bare feet skidding slightly on the gravel. She threw up a wall of shadows as Tanith leapt for her. Tanith collided with the wall, getting her feet on the wall and leaping over, lashing out with her sword. Valkyrie caught in mid-air with a kick that sent sideways, her sword missing Valkyrie by inches.

But before she could even blink Tanith was swinging again and this time her sword found its mark. Valkyrie screamed in pain as the sword opened up her back, once, twice. Skin ruptured, blinding pain tearing through her Valkyrie fell to the ground, her knees giving out. Pain ripped through her, tearing her apart as Tanith ran her sword through her back. Agony, pure agony, she wanted to scream but she couldn't the pain was all too much. A smile flashed on Tanith's black lipped face as she moved in front of Valkyrie, hunkering down in front of her.

"You should've just come with us, Val." Tanith said sadly, the veins in face slowly fading back to normal, the blackness receding, the only sign of what she truly was. "I never wanted to hurt you, you know that but you and Skulduggery just had to go and play hero. Guess that turned out badly for both of you, huh? She won't let you die, Val. If I can't persuade you to help I'm just going to have to wait for her to save you."

Tanith turned away from her for a moment, looking at Sanguine who was shouting and cursing in pain but Valkyrie didn't hear his words. Everything seemed faded but the pain, the harsh, excruciating pain that tore her back apart. Tanith was speaking now, talking to Sanguine, adopting a sad sort of smile.

And then the air exploded.

Gun shots, two in quick succession. Screams filled Valkyrie's ears. Blood stained Tanith's chest. Surprise flitted across her face, her hand going to the wound, turning red with blood. Sanguine was shouting, screaming and then there was another gunshot and Tanith dropped, blood exploding from her exposed shoulder. More shouts filled the air, people were running. Lights flashed above Valkyrie, spells, curses. Someone was yelling her name but it was far off. Hands were on her now, the voice that was shouting her name somehow closer. Then Skulduggery came into view, his jaw moved but Valkyrie couldn't hear the words. Darkness was seeping into her vision, she just wanted the pain to end. It had to end. Someone rushed into view, someone in white, Madam Pomprey. There was a something, a word and then a flash of red light and everything went black.


	9. Recovery

**AN: Hey guys, first off, as always, thanks everyone who has reviewed, favourited, followed this story, it is way more people than I was expecting so thank you. Secondly, I'm back, as you can probably tell, but exams are still on so updates won't be as quick but they will be there. And finally, sorry to RedDawn1 for leaving it on a mild cliff hanger but I thought that that was better than leaving it where it was originally. But yeah, thank you guys again and I hope you enjoy this next instalment. **

Chapter Eight: Recovery

Valkyrie awoke on a very comfortable and unfortunately familiar bed. She didn't move, her head pounding, her mind groggy. She opened her eyes, but she didn't really need to, she knew where she was. The Hospital Wing, it had to be. She raised her head awkwardly, a sharp pain stabbing in her back as she moved. Wincing, twisted around, trying to make herself more comfortable against the huge amount of pillows that supported her. Everything was the same as it was every time she awoke here, the same view, same pillows and quite a few times the same patients surrounded her. However, this time something was different. Before she always awoke alone but now two people were standing at the end of her bed having a very quiet, very heated discussion. Though, they stopped as soon as they noticed her moving.

"Valkyrie." Skulduggery said, moving towards her, Dumbledore remained where he was, a sombre look on his old face. Skulduggery's shirt was still ripped open but there was no long groove in his bones where the sword had sliced him open, Madam Pomfrey must have already seen to him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I've had worse." Valkyrie muttered, remembering Melancholia's brutal attack over a year ago. She had almost been cut to ribbons, it was amazing that Nye had managed to save her, she doubted even Kenspeckle could have done it though she didn't admit it to the creature. Nye didn't deserve gratitude. "Where's Tanith? You shot her. I can't believe you shot her. She isn't dead is she?"

"She almost killed you, of course I shot her. But no, she's not dead." Skulduggery replied. "They're dealing with her now, but she's going to pull through and when she does Ghastly's going to take her back to the Sanctuary and Nye can begin work on getting that Remnant out. If it's possible I'm sure she'll thank me, if not, well, at least you're not dead."

"Not being dead suits me." Valkyrie said, hissing in pain as she twisted again, pain burning in her back. She didn't dare look down. She didn't think she could take looking at the wound just yet.

"What I want to know is how they knew you were here. Nobody knew you were here apart from Ravel and other key Sanctuary members, certainly nobody that Tanith knows."

"But every wizard in the country knows I'm here. Apparently Sanguine got a letter off some kind of influential wizard, someone I've upset but that could be anyone who read Skeeter's article. That's how he knew where to come, they told him everything."

"But who could allow him access to the school?"

"I believe that I can help you with that particular question, Detective Pleasant." Dumbledore said, speaking for the first time. "Only members of staff, the Heads of both Beauxbaton and Durmstrang and the Board of Governors can allow access into the school. Students cannot bring friends or family members without permission from the Board who act independently or one of my members of staff, which then has to be agreed with myself. It was a measure brought in this year due to the Tournament and I can assure you that Mister Sanguine and Miss Low were not requested permission to enter the school by any of the staff. Of course you are free to conduct your own investigation into them if you see fit. However, if they had been here before then naturally they could find it again but I do not remember seeing either of them before."

"I want to talk to the Board,"

"You must understand, Detective, that it is the holidays. The various members of the Board are with their families and will likely want to remain undisturbed until the holiday ends."

"That wasn't a request. Either you help me or I find them myself, I don't care which."

Dumbledore looked a little stunned, though Valkyrie could have imagined it, because a moment later that serene smile was back on his lips and his eyes were twinkling once more. "Very well, I shall alert them that their presence is required on a matter of urgency. I shall inform you of their arrival."

Skulduggery nodded, the tension between the two was clear, knowing Skulduggery he would have blamed Dumbledore for Tanith and taken his anger out on the aged wizard. An anger that had yet to be sated, silences didn't suit Skulduggery, it was usually a bad sign.

"Now I am afraid that you will have to excuse me, I merely came to inform you that we are taking steps to insure that this cannot happen again. Aurors have been stationed on every entrance to the school. If that is all, Detective I have a meeting to attend. Minister Fudge is insisting on speaking with me due to current events, this has taken us all by surprise."

"You can say that again," Valkyrie muttered darkly.

"Actually, Professor, I would like a word with Fudge."

"Given the circumstances I think it would be appropriate."

"I'll come back later, try to get some rest."

With a soft smile Dumbledore turned on his heel and left, his dark red robes billowing out behind him. Skulduggery followed, pulling out his phone from his pocket as he did so. He was probably giving Ravel an update. As soon as the Hospital Wing doors opened, however, several people came spilling into the room. Still in his green dress robes Harry followed by Ron and the Weasley Twins hurried into the room. Thankfully for them Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight, Valkyrie knew that she loathed huge amounts of visitors in her domain and if she had seen them she would have gone catatonic.

"Val! What happened? People are saying you were stabbed!" Fred and George shouted together.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked when he reached her bedside. Valkyrie stared at her four visitors, arching an eyebrow. She hadn't been expecting that, Christmas presents were one thing but by the looks of it none of them had been to bed that night. She wasn't sure how long she had been out but the sun was up, it must have been hours.

"I'm fine, just a little sore I guess." Valkyrie told him with a small smile as he sank into the empty chair by her bed. The others all crowded around the end of the bed, Ron sitting down on bit of bed beside her feet. "How did you guys know I was in here anyway?"

"We were out in the Grounds when it happened." Ron said as Fred and George summoned chairs from neighbouring beds with a wave of their wands and sat down on Valkyrie's other side. "There were sort of explosions or something, we thought it was fireworks but then Snape ran past us with Dumbledore and next thing we knew they were you bringing you back to the school. And you were..."

His voice faltered, his face was almost bone white. He took a deep, steadying breath before continuing. "You were covered in blood. What happened?"

"Nothing," Valkyrie said with a sigh. She didn't know the whole story herself, they hadn't had chance to interview Sanguine or Tanith though Tanith had made it pretty clear why she had come. Darquesse. But Valkyrie couldn't tell them that, only Skulduggery knew about that and it wasn't something that was about to change anytime soon.

"You had a giant hole in your back, Val!"

Valkyrie stayed silent for a moment as four pairs of eyes stared disbelievingly at her. She couldn't tell them everything, not even half of it, but they deserved to know some of the truth. They'd been up all night waiting for her to wake up and they weren't going to take no for answer. "Fine. I was attacked, someone grabbed me out of the ball and took me into the grounds, they were going to try and take me away from here but Skulduggery got there before they could. We got into a fight."

"Who?"

"Someone who should be in jail right now. But they got out to find me. I work for a place called the Sanctuary. It's mine and Skulduggery's job to arrest people who break the laws of the Sanctuary."

"Like an Auror?" Ron asked, his mouth open wide, gaping at her.

"I don't know what that is. Do they arrest people?"

"Yeah,"

"Then sure, like an Auror."

"And one of these people you arrested got out and tried to kill you?"

"Basically." Valkyrie nodded. Strictly speaking she hadn't arrested Tanith or Sanguine, though she and Skulduggery had tried to and Skulduggery had been the one to issue the alerts out to other Sanctuary's that they should be arrested on sight so it was kind of the truth. It was as much as she could tell them without revealing Darquesse and who she really was.

"How're you so calm about all this, Val? We thought you were dead." Ron said, though his voice came out no louder than a whisper.

"It's my job." Valkyrie shrugged wincing a little as her wound rubbed against the pillows supporting her back. Madam Pomfrey's potions were no doubt wearing off because every movement was starting to feel like her skin was being burnt. "I wouldn't be doing it if I couldn't deal with it."

"He was right," Harry said. "Your judge. Ghastly. You really can handle anything."

Valkyrie grinned but before she could say anything there was an indignant shout from the other side of the room and Madam Pomfrey came hurrying over, a stern look on her usually kind face.

"I turn my back for a moment and you lot come in, I told you to wait, Miss Cain needs rest!" she shouted as she bustled over, a bright orange potion clasped in one hand her wand in the other.

"I am resting. I'm on the bed and everything." Valkyrie retorted as the matron set down the potion on the table next to her.

"You've suffered a great ordeal, you need sleep before you can have visitors. I'm amazed you aren't in more shock with everything that you've been through."

"I've been asleep for hours though."

"You were stunned for hours, Miss Cain, not asleep and that was while I dealt with your injuries. How Dumbledore could have allowed this to happen I don't know. Armed criminals in the Grounds. You could have been killed, if you hadn't been here as soon as you were I dread to think what would have happened." Madam Pomfrey uncorked the potion as she spoke and looked at her four visitors. "Now, I must insist that you leave, all of you. Please return in the normal visiting hours, I have work to do on Miss Cain's injuries."

Valkyrie half expected them to retort, she had never seen the Weasley Twins bow to authority and if half the stuff she'd heard about Harry was true he didn't really have a track record for it. But all of them nodded under the stern glare of the Hogwarts matron and got up, ready to leave. Fred and George promised to be in later and Ron muttered something about bringing a chess game. Harry smiled wishing her a speedy recovery and promising to visit as soon as he could before following his friends out of the Hospital Wing. Valkyrie couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. It was a strange feeling, having somebody other than Skulduggery or Ghastly be at her bedside. It was a strange feeling to have friends outside of her world and her job. She quite liked it. Maybe the Tournament wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Hours later Valkyrie mood had plummeted, her smile was replaced by a scowl. The last time she had anywhere near this long in a hospital bed she had been with Tanith. As it was the only company she had, apart from Madam Pomfrey, was the occasional student coming in complaining of headaches and even then Madam Pomfrey shooed them away before they had chance to talk to her. She wouldn't have minded so much if she could sleep but despite her bored state it still eluded her. Even with the pain relieving potions and the weird cream Valkyrie couldn't get comfortable. The new skin on her back still felt raw and no matter how she lay the many pillows pressing into her back were a constant reminder of how tender her flesh was.

She was just about to hurl yet another pillow bad temperedly across the room, trying to make herself more comfortable, when Ghastly walked in. He was headed off by Madam Pomfrey before he could take another step but after a brief moment and the matron nodding exasperatedly Ghastly made his way towards Valkyrie.

"Hello Valkyrie," he said smiling gently. He was still wearing the same outfit he had worn for the ball, though he had lost the black tie. Evidently he hadn't had time to change, though Valkyrie could understand that, Tanith's arrival had been a shock for all of them, especially Ghastly. He had wanted more than anything to find her and get her back on Irish soil so as they could try and get that Remnant out. Valkyrie didn't doubt that his day had been even longer than hers. "Skulduggery told me what happened. I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner but I've been on the phone all morning. Ravel made me tell him everything about what happened and asked if you were okay about a dozen times before I could talk to him about sending Cleavers over here."

"When are they getting here?"

"Later today," Ghastly said with a sigh. "It could have been earlier but the English Council objected to Cleavers shipped onto their soil without proof of what was going on. We might be in Scotland but the earliest and nearest flight to here is in England. They don't like and they certainly don't like Tanith, Remnant or not they blame her for the death of their Grand Mage and the fact that she broke into their Sanctuary doesn't do her any favours either. I'm amazed they're letting Ravel send Cleavers over."

"It's not as if they have much choice," Valkyrie pointed out. "We arrested her, they didn't have anything to do with it."

"It doesn't mean they like it." Ghastly said dropping into the chair by her bed. "But the main thing is we're getting her back to the Sanctuary and that you're okay. You are, aren't you? If you aren't I might have lied to Erskine."

"I'm fine," Valkyrie said with a laugh. "Though I think I might have ruined that dress you made me."

"I always knew there was a reason I only make you protective clothing," Ghastly smiled. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"You aren't the only one," Valkyrie grinned back, her eyes flitting to Madam Pomfrey who was hovering in the background waiting for Ghastly to leave. The matron had been dotting on Valkyrie ever since she had arrived the previous night. It was sort of sweet, in a way, but annoying as hell. At least Kenspeckle had left her alone when she had asked and Nye didn't have any bedside manner at all. The creature preferred silence but Pomfrey loved mothering Valkyrie, it was a little patronising. "Being stabbed isn't fun."

"I imagine it wouldn't be."

"Neither is being stuck in here," Valkyrie muttered, keeping a careful on Madam Pomfrey who was momentarily distracted by a boy who had bright green hair and was trying not to cry. "It's so boring. She says I've got to stay in here another night so as she can keep an eye on everything, at least. Ghastly I've barely managed today, how can I go another evening?"

"You'll have visitors, don't worry. Skulduggery tells me he's coming to see you later, apparently he's got good news."

"That makes a change,"

"It does," Ghastly agreed. "And I'm sure that your friends will no doubt want to come and see you again. You know, for someone who tends to avoid their age you're making a lot of friends."

"I don't avoid them, I just don't have a lot in common with them."

"Not many teenagers have skeleton partners and save the world then?"

"Surprisingly no, not really."

"You astound me," Ghastly grinned, a grin that soon vanished as his phone rang in his pocket. He sighed, glancing down at the screen when he had taken it from the depths of his pocket. "I'm sorry, Valkyrie, but I've got to take this. Get well soon and please don't get into any more fights."

"I can't promise anything." Valkyrie told him, smiling, as he rose and walked away before answering the phone with yet another resigned sigh. Being an Elder really was taking it out of him but there wasn't a lot he could do about it. He couldn't step down, not now, not when the world was watching. All eyes were on Ireland. But at least he now had his wish. They had Tanith. That was something.

Valkyrie didn't have to wait too long for another visitor. Ignoring the fact that visiting hours weren't until after dinner Skulduggery entered the Hospital Wing around three but as he wasn't a student Madam Pomfrey could hardly order him away. That didn't mean she liked him disregarding almost every single one of her requests. He seemed to have a skill at annoying medical staff.

"How'd the meeting with Fudge go?" Valkyrie asked when Skulduggery had settled down in his chair.

"He's less than impressed with Dumbledore but he's your usual politician, complaining how it reflects on him and how bad it makes him look. Though, he did agree to post Aurors around the school entrances."

"So that's your good news then?"

"No, though I suppose it could be counted as good news."

"Well what is your good news?"

"That I have figured out who gave Sanguine passage into Hogwarts." Valkyrie arched an eyebrow, that was fast, even for Skulduggery, especially considering that he had been recovering just as she had. Though his wounds had been easier to fix, he hadn't lost any blood, she had. Almost too much.

"Who?"

"Malfoy."

"Draco Malfoy? But he's not on the board. He's a student. I know he hates me and everything but don't you think that's a bit extreme."

"It wasn't him. It was Lucius, his father."

"He said something about telling his father, you think that's why he did it? Get revenge for his son?" It made sense, in a weird way, from what she had heard Malfoy Senior was power hungry and didn't care who he hurt to get there. Sending Sanguine after her was a little extreme but he might have known what Sanguine and Tanith would do when they got hold of her, they were hardly likely to tell him the truth.

"Maybe, but I've been thinking about what you said, about Voldemort being a partner in all this. What if he sent Tanith after you? Whoever joined him or helped his plot could have suggested Tanith's name to throw us off both their trails. Tanith is an independent agent with her own agenda, if Sanguine hadn't said anything we would never have linked it back to them. But we did. Sanguine needed access. So they used Malfoy. He's a Death Eater, though he claimed to have been under the influence of the imperious curse for all the time he was on Voldemort's side. It would make sense to use him. He's a respected citizen."

"The what curse?"

"Imperious curse, it renders those cursed completely powerless to the caster's will. Rather convenient if you ask me. He was able to escape prison sentence because of that plea and a rather charitable donation to the Ministry's Auror Department."

"He bribed them?"

"It certainly looks that way, doesn't it? Sanguine won't talk as far as the letter is concerned and it isn't on him. So we need a confession. I've got a meeting with him tomorrow, ten in the morning. I'm going to need you there. Think you can make it?"

"It's not up to me," Valkyrie replied bitterly. If she had it her way she would have been out as soon as her back had stopped throbbing but she didn't really have a say. Though, she doubted Skulduggery's day would have been much more fun, it sounded like all he had been doing was researching the various board members. As annoying as being bed bound with an over-zealous nurse was it beat doing research that didn't involve her uncle. "But I hope so."

"I'll have a word with Madam Pomfrey."

"It might take more than that."

"I can be persuasive."

"If by persuasive you mean pointing a gun in someone's face and threatening them, sure."

"It's effective." Skulduggery pointed out. "But no, I was thinking about my charming sophistication rather than threatening to shoot her."

He got up, buttoning up his jacket and putting on his hat, which he had taken off when he had sat down. "I'll see what I can do," he said, lowering his voice as the girl on the bed next to Valkyrie, who had been bought in earlier that day with a severe skin rash and stomach pains after taking a badly brewed potion, stirred in her sleep. "Listen, if Malfoy has anything to do with this he isn't going to get away with it, he can't bribe his way out of Sanctuary custody."

"You want to arrest him,"

"No, I want to be left in a room alone with him for five very long, very painful minutes. You could have been killed. If he had anything to do with it, anything, he's going to regret it. I don't care who he is or who he owns. He is going to wish that he never even heard of Sanguine by the time I'm through with him."

And with that, before Valkyrie could say anything, Skulduggery turned and strode away leaving his anger-filled words hanging in the still air above her. Valkyrie had been expecting it, of course she had, she was his partner and Skulduggery wouldn't let anyone get away with helping Sanguine and Tanith. She just hoped he didn't go too far. They were on thin ice as it was. They were representing the Sanctuary, a Sanctuary that was on the brink of war, a war that might just be started by something like this. They couldn't afford to go too far. But as she watched him walk away she knew that that was easier said than done. The ice was cracking.


	10. Interrogations

**AN: Okay, so this was meant to be the second half of the last chapter but it would have made it too big and I hadn't finished it when I last posted. But I managed to finish it today so here it is. Hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Nine: Interrogations

Valkyrie stepped out of the Hospital Wing the next day with a grin on her face. Thanks to Skulduggery's insistence that he needed her for his current case Madam Pomfrey had reluctantly allowed Valkyrie to leave, though she was under strict instructions to report back at the end of the day to make sure that none of her wounds had re-opened. If the Hogwarts Matron had had it her way Valkyrie would still be on the bed but luckily Skulduggery had convinced her otherwise.

True to their word the Weasley Twins, Harry and Ron had visited the night previously, Fred and George had smuggled up butterbeer and food from the kitchens once Valkyrie told them that she was being released so as they could celebrate. Of course, the celebrations were quiet and hushed but still, it had been fun. Hermione had joined them half-way through the evening with what had looked like genuine concern on her face. It was almost touching, at least it had been until Fred had given her a Canary Cream that she had absent-mindedly accepted while apologising for not visiting earlier only to burst into a giant feathery canary much to the delight of Fred and George. Who quickly ran when both Madam Pomfrey and Hermione chased them from the Hospital Wing their wands drawn.

Skulduggery was waiting for Valkyrie outside the Hospital Wing wearing his dark blue suit with a matching hat and pale blue shirt.

"Good morning," he said in greeting from his position against the wall. "Sleep well?"

"Not really," Valkyrie murmured, stifling a yawn. When Madam Pomfrey had operated on her she had slept well, though that had mainly been due to the stunning spell and the potions that she had been given, but the following night her dreams had returned. Darquesse. Visions of Darquesse had filled her mind once more. Even Madam Pomfrey's dreamless sleep potions could not banish the dark dreams that filled her head. She had had an hour or two at most.

"Bad dreams?"

"I never seem to have good dreams these days," Valkyrie grumbled.

"The price of being a detective," Skulduggery told her as they began down the corridor. "How's your back, by the way?"

"It's fine, a little sore. I've got to be back up here tonight to make sure it doesn't reopen or anything." Valkyrie replied. "So, where are we going?"

"Professor McGonagall has kindly agreed to give us the use of her office for today. I suppose we could use my room but I'd rather he didn't know where you sleep. I interviewed everybody else earlier, seeing as Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let you out until lunch I thought it would be a constructive use of my time. They're all clean. Only three of them have given access to anyone over the last few months and none of them were Tanith or Sanguine. I did some checking on Malfoy. He gave access to two school inspectors: Madam Elizabeth Kerner and Mister Alexander Reynolds. They are both inspectors at the Ministry, they have meetings with Dumbledore every so often to make sure that everything is going okay. I asked Fudge if he had sent them. He hadn't. They're both on holiday, Kerner is in Paris and Reynolds is in his flat in Oxford."

"So it is Malfoy then?"

"It can't be anyone else. The trouble is that we can't get hold of either of them to validate it. Malfoy could have requested them, it's his right as head of the Governors."

"So we've still got no proof that it is him?"

"No," Skulduggery said the frustration clear in his voice. After that he didn't speak again for the rest of their journey to McGonagall's office. It was unnerving and more than a little worrying. Skulduggery was rarely quiet and when he was it was never a good sign. Valkyrie didn't envy Malfoy one bit, he had chosen the wrong side and he didn't even know why yet but he was about to find out.

As they reached the office Valkyrie stopped, throwing out an arm so as Skulduggery didn't enter the office. She had to say it before they entered, she needed to know that he wasn't going to do anything that wasn't by the book. Not now. Not when the world was watching. Normally she would have let him take his anger out on Malfoy but they couldn't afford it.

"Promise me you won't do anything stupid," she said, making sure that there was no one around. "Voldemort's got one of us on his side, if we do this wrong they'll tell anyone who'll listen, they're looking for an excuse to go to war, Skulduggery."

"I know," Skulduggery replied. "But he's going to pay for what happened to you, Valkyrie."

And with that Skulduggery went into the office. After a moment Valkyrie followed him. It was a small and yet brightly lit room with one large window looking out onto the Grounds. The far wall was home to a roaring fireplace, a small grey pot sitting on the mantelpiece. There weren't any real signs that this was someone's office. There was a Gryffindor lion etched delicately into the wall above her desk but apart from that there was nothing, no photos of loved ones, nothing that made it Professor McGonagall's office, it could have been anyone's.

The desk itself sat to the side, the chair that McGonagall sat in facing the door while the chairs that the students would sit in faced her, away from the door, so they would have to crane their necks or turn to see who entered. Valkyrie almost smiled. It was exactly the same as how Skulduggery set up his interview room at the Sanctuary.

Skulduggery made his way to the large chair behind the desk when the recently closed door was thrown lazily open and a tall, blonde haired man that could only be Draco Malfoy's father stepped inside wearing completely black robes and carrying a black cane with a silver serpent's head as the handle. His cold eyes fixed on Valkyrie, widening slightly, but only for less than a second before flitting to Skulduggery so quickly that she wasn't even sure that it had happened, it was almost as if he was shocked to see her.

"Mister Malfoy, take a seat." Skulduggery said, his usual warmth gone from his voice and filling with a coldness to rival that of Malfoy's emotionless eyes.

"I do hope that you are not about to waste my time, Detective Pleasant, I am very busy man."

"I assure you that this is not a waste of time," Skulduggery told him as Malfoy took the seat opposite. Valkyrie already hated him. The arrogance that had oozed from his son was nothing compared to the cool, hard self-confidence that radiated from Malfoy. She had never seen anything like it and the way he talked, she just wanted to hit him hard across the face to knock him down a peg or two. He had a face that made her fists itch. "I am sure you that Professor Dumbledore has made you aware of the events of two days ago."

"Of course," Malfoy replied, with a small nod as he turned to Valkyrie, those cold, icy eyes on her once more. "You have my sympathy, Miss Cain, I hear it was quite the ordeal."

"I'll get over it," Valkyrie said tightly, resisting glaring at the arrogant, self-obsessed man before her. Definitely like father like son.

"I'm sure you will. However, I am unsure what Miss Cain's predicament has to do with me."

"Then let me make it clear," Skulduggery said. "There is no way that either of the people who attacked Valkyrie could have entered this castle without help. It has been confirmed that someone on the Board of Governors is responsible for allowing them access to the school. Do you have any idea who that could be, Mister Malfoy?"

"None at all,"

"Are you quite sure?" Skulduggery pressed. "Think hard Mister Malfoy because we know that someone is guilty."

"Now that you mention it, Cyrus Greengrass has been acting strangely since Miss Cain's name came out of the Goblet. He doesn't like your kind, Detective, perhaps it could be him."

Valkyrie felt her fists clench and her jaw tighten, he was trying to blame someone else for what had happened to her. He wanted to be in the clear and he was going to shift it all onto someone who had never meant her any harm, someone who was completely innocent. It didn't matter to him as long as he wasn't affected. It took all of her self control not say anything, Skulduggery had it under control, he was their best chance of arresting Malfoy for what he had done.

"I myself have already talked to Mister Greengrass," Skulduggery replied. "He's innocent, he hasn't given anybody access to the castle apart from his mother, last year, who wanted to see her granddaughters over Christmas."

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you, Detective." Malfoy said with another little smirk. He probably thought he'd won. "Now if you would excuse me I must be -"

"I know you are busy, Mister Malfoy, but I still have some questions for you."

"Such as?"

"Mister Greengrass isn't the only one who has granted permission to outsiders so as they can enter the school. You yourself gave permission to Madam Kerner and Mister Reynolds, is that correct?"

"Yes it is," Malfoy nodded. "They work at the Ministry, with everything going on, the Tournament having two more champions that expected I thought it would be prudent for them to inspect the school. It seems that my fears were correct."

"I assure you, Mister Malfoy, nothing is as it seems. Those inspectors, for example, they never came here, did they? Do you know what I think? I think you lied about them coming here. I think you lied to cover up who really was coming here."

"I do not appreciate what you are insinuating, Detective Pleasant."

"I'm not insinuating anything," Skulduggery said, leaning forward, his gloved hands on the desk. "I'm telling you. You're the one who gave Valkyrie's attackers access to the school."

"You're insane!" Malfoy shouted, losing the cool demeanour that he had kept in place throughout the entire conversation. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll that people who oppose me have little to show for it afterwards. I can make things difficult for you and your partner very quickly, Detective. All I have to do is send a letter and you're finished."

"Is that why you did it, Malfoy? Put Valkyrie in her place for daring to touch your pathetic little son. You wanted make sure that she was finished, is that it?"

"I will not be spoken to like that," Malfoy spat, suddenly on his feet, his eyes flashing. The effect would have been intimidating if Skulduggery hadn't drawn himself up to his fullest height, towering over Malfoy, who looked up at him defiantly.

"No that's not it, is it? You wouldn't kidnap her for that, would you? You'd make it public, embarrassing. This wasn't your plan was it? It was Voldemort's."

"If it was the Dark Lord's plan then why would he use sorcerers? Answer me that Skeleton."

"I don't remember telling you that she was attacked by sorcerers, Mister Malfoy." Skulduggery said and Malfoy's eyes widened with panic. Valkyrie felt a smile pull at her lips. They had him. "In fact, I deliberately made sure that you wouldn't know that. I made sure that Dumbledore only told you that Valkyrie had been attacked that you were needed, nothing else. So, there is no way that you can know unless, of course, it was you who sent them."

Malfoy's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowed as Skulduggery took out a set of shackles from his jacket pocket. "I have very powerful friends, Detective, you are going to regret accusing me of such a thing."

"I'll do more than that. Lucius Malfoy," Skulduggery said, "by the power endowed unto me under the Sanctuary Rule of Justice, I am placing you under arrest for aiding and abetting the assault and attempted murder of a Sanctuary Agent. You have the right to -"

But Skulduggery was cut off by Malfoy drawing his wand, pointing it straight at his chest. It was lear that he hated not being in control, people like him never did. Malfoy's plan was unravelling and he knew it. There was nothing he could do. Maybe later he could but not now. They weren't Aurors. They were detectives. He couldn't bribe his way out of this. "I think not, Detective."

"Are you resisting arrest?" Skulduggery asked, not bothering to raise his hands, Valkyrie was about to step forwards but he shook his head so imperceptibly that only Valkyrie noticed. What the hell was he playing at?

"You have no right to arrest me, Detective. I will see you pay for what you tried to do today."

"I'm going to take that as a yes," Skulduggery said. "Valkyrie, please verify that Mister Malfoy is resisting arrest."

"I think he is," Valkyrie agreed, realising what he was doing a moment before he did it.

Skulduggery didn't waste another second with words but moved under Malfoy's wand. There was a bang but Skulduggery was already grabbing his arm and then moving under, turning and wrenching. There was a loud crack and a howl of pain that echoed around the office, Malfoy dropped to his knees, his wand scattering to the floor. Skulduggery drove his knee into Malfoy jaw and the man was sent backwards, unconscious, lying sprawled out on the floor. Skulduggery slammed another fist into his face, drawing blood, before he knelt down and cuffed him. Valkyrie picked up his wand and snapped it for good measure, just in case the shackles didn't bind wizards like they did mages.

Outside the office there was the sound of someone running and then McGonagall appeared, her wand in her hand, she was out of breath and glaring at both Valkyrie and Skulduggery.

"What," she demanded. "Is going on here?"

"Mister Malfoy was resisting arrest," Skulduggery answered, as he rose to his feet, leaving Malfoy where he was on the floor.

"Arrest?"

"Yes, Professor, it was Mister Malfoy who gave Sanguine and Tanith access to the school. I don't know why yet but I will. Has Ghastly left any Cleavers?"

"Mister Bespoke left a group of four, to look after Mister Sanguine in the dungeons, he thought it best that Mister Sanguine and Miss Low did not travel together." McGonagall told him. "But -"

"Then I will be placing Mister Malfoy with the Cleavers until they take Sanguine back to Ireland, he can go with them." Skulduggery replied before turning back to Malfoy and with a wave of his hands levitated him out of the room, knocking his head hard against the doorframe as he did so. McGonagall stared after him, her mouth slightly open, shock on her lined face. Valkyrie gave her a smile before she followed Skulduggery, closing the door behind her.

The news of Malfoy's arrest spread around the school quicker than anything Valkyrie had expected. Only hours later everyone was talking about it, though that was partly due to the fact that Skulduggery had paraded him in front of six open classrooms before taking him down to the dungeon, claiming to be lost when the tiny Professor Flitwick asked what they were doing on the Sixth Floor.

Draco Malfoy, as a result, was completely disgraced. Valkyrie would have felt sorry for him if he hadn't been such an insufferable, arrogant coward, as it was she felt a twinge of guilt when she saw his pale face marred with emotion. Though, the guilt vanished when he began shouting at her from across the corridor later that day. It didn't do him much good. Fred, who had been at the opposite end of the corridor, silenced him just as he was about to call her something particularly foul and threatened to curse anyone who gave him the counter curse.

When the news of Lucius' arrest reached Ron's ears he was almost instantly asking Valkyrie how they had managed to arrest him and get away with it. Apparently anyone who had tried to arrest him failed and those who actually managed to arrest him were never able to get a conviction as he would always be able to worm his way out of the situation. Ron didn't stop celebrating for a whole day, ignoring Hermione's comment on it being bad taste. Malfoy had persecuted his family for years and Ron was enjoying the fact that he had finally got what was coming to him.

They took Malfoy away with Sanguine two days later, despite his best efforts to be freed through the many lawyers he requested, Skulduggery refused to let him go and he wasn't about to grant him immunity, even for information, not after what he had done. Even so Skulduggery spent almost every hour down in the dungeons, talking to Malfoy, chipping away at him. Valkyrie joined him a few hours before Malfoy was scheduled to be sent to Ireland.

The dungeon that he was being held in was cold and eerily lit by the cool, green light that shone through the lake above them. Torches lit the Cleavers outside, Malfoy had two and Sanguine had the other two, one posted outside his door, the other inside to keep a constant eye on him. They didn't react when Valkyrie neared, but she hadn't expected them to, they just kept staring straight ahead at the chipped stone wall. They let her pass and she opened the door to Malfoy's make-shift cell.

Malfoy was sitting shackled to a chair, Skulduggery had shackled each arm to the corresponding arm rest on the chair and had done the same with his legs. There was no way Malfoy was going anywhere and neither was Skulduggery. Sleep didn't stop him, hunger didn't affect him, he hadn't moved for the past few hours straight and the only way Malfoy could stop him was to tell him everything. Malfoy didn't look round when she entered, his head was bowed low, his long hair obscuring his face from view.

"If you don't tell me anything, Lucius do you know what will happen to you? Do you even know where you're going? You're going to be tried and then sentenced a put into the deepest, darkest hole I can find. No one will be there, you'll be completely, totally alone, you don't deserve company. But if you tell me everything you know, why you're responsible for Valkyrie almost being killed, then I might consider giving you a nice, warm cell in a jail full of killers like you. You don't help me then you rot. I'll leave you there forever and believe me I can and I will. This is your last chance. Tell me everything."

"I can't," Malfoy whispered, his voice frail and empty of the arrogance that it had once carried, being replaced by a tinge of fear that lingered on the edge of his words and filled his eyes. "He'll kill me."

"I hate to be cliché but where you're going is worse than death, trust me. I know what it is die and I know what is to be trapped alone with nothing but pain for company. Death is far easier, Lucius."

Malfoy nodded, more to himself than to Skulduggery, his lank hair falling in front of his stubble covered face. "It was his plan. The Dark Lord isn't gone, Potter didn't kill him, we all thought he was dead but he's back. The Dark Lord, he wants her to die. The girl. You have to believe me I do not know why, I just know that he plans to kill her."

"How did he contact you?" Valkyrie asked, from her position against the wall and Malfoy turned slowly looking at her with those empty eyes. He didn't even look half the man she had seen almost two days ago.

"He sent someone with a letter, his last loyal servant."

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me, he just gave me the letter and left." Malfoy told them, Valkyrie moved round, joining Skulduggery opposite Malfoy.

"What did the letter say?" Skulduggery asked, his voice gentler than it had been before. "What was his plan, Lucius?"

"He told me to give Low and Sanguine a way into the school, he said that they would take it from there and that when you die we will enter an Age of Glory that we have never seen before. When you both die our greatest ally will be revealed to us." Malfoy said. "I didn't even know he was back but mark is getting clearer with each day, soon he is going to return and he isn't going to fall, not this time. He will call on those of us who were loyal to him. He will rid us of the scourge that plagues or world."

"Who is this ally?"

"I don't know." Malfoy told him, if he had said that only days previously Valkyrie wouldn't have believed him but as she looked into those empty eyes she knew he wasn't lying. He feared his master but he was more scared by the threat that had fallen from Skulduggery's mouth. "The letter didn't say. But I've heard a word, I don't know what it means but he said it, the man who gave me the letter."

"What word?"

"Darquesse."


	11. Stories and Secrets

Chapter Ten: Stories and Secrets

The next morning Valkyrie found herself alone in the Great Hall. Nobody was awake yet, apart from the Ravenclaw insomniac, Frances, but he wasn't saying anything. It was a Sunday. No one was awake on a Sunday. She usually wasn't. But she hadn't gotten any sleep. None. She had tried to shake the last thing that he had said but she'd failed. How could he have known? He might not know what it meant but Voldemort clearly did. How could they know? And what did they know? Did they know everything? Was her secret finally out? She shook herself, Skulduggery's words from the night before echoing around her mind.

"They don't know everything," he had said, as soon as they left Malfoy's cell. "They want you dead. If they knew who you were they wouldn't risk it. They would want you alive, Valkyrie."

"So the fact they want me dead is a good thing?"

"In this context," Skulduggery had said. "Yes."

She was being stupid. They didn't know everything. They didn't know that she was Darquesse. But the fact that they knew about her, wanted to recruit her, that had to mean something, right? What if they found out? All Darquesse needed was a trigger, what if this was it? What if Voldemort was that trigger that let her out for good?

_Then I will be out for good._

"No, I won't let you." Valkyrie said. "You're not getting out."

_Just free me, it's a lot less effort. You know it will happen anyway. So why won't you just do it? Let. Me. Out._

"Shut up, just shut up!"

For the first time Darquesse obliged, remaining silent, leaving Valkyrie with her fears which was almost worse. She remembered, as if it was yesterday, the vision she had been shown. The world had been levelled. Her parents. They died. They were killed. It had been her. It been Valkyrie. No. It had been Darquesse. She had killed them. But they were the same person. Two sides of the same coin. It was her. She was going to kill her own parents and Voldemort was going to set her on that path and there was nothing she could do. It had always seemed far away before, in the future, but now it loomed over, daunting and terrifying and far too real.

Valkyrie was so wrapped up in her own thoughts and fears that she didn't notice the time passing and what felt like a second later people slowly began trickling into the Hall. Moments later Harry, with a hungry and eager Ron in toe, joined her on the Gryffindor table. Hermione was nowhere to be seen, clearly preferring sleep over food. Valkyrie didn't blame her.

"Morning," Harry said as Ron loaded up his plate. He appeared to be somewhat anxious, Valkyrie frowned, pushing down her own thoughts, using his as a distraction, anything was better than being trapped with the fears that Malfoy had stirred in her heart. He chewed his lip, glancing around before, leaning close and lowering his voice. "How's your egg coming?"

"It's not," Valkyrie told him, so that was what he was worried about. The egg. She had to admit February seemed a lot closer this side of Christmas, though, she had had other things to focus on. But since they had arrested Malfoy Skulduggery had been dropping hints about it and how to open it without it piercing her eardrums. It was getting annoying, always getting the same advice: Elemental Magic. But she'd tried that. It didn't make any sense. It was something else she could add to the list of annoying puzzles. Though, at least the egg wasn't life threatening. She shook herself, she couldn't think about that, about Darquesse, not now anyway. "I just keep getting wailing. You?"

"Same, really. I think Cedric's worked it out though." Harry said, pouring himself a pumpkin juice.

"Why?"

"He said something the night you were..." he faltered, looking down at his goblet. "At the Yule Ball, he said I should take a bath with it or something. I wasn't really paying any -"

"Did you say a bath?" Valkyrie asked, her mind latching onto his words, something sparking deep inside it. Elemental Magic. Not fire or air or earth. Water. It was water. It had to be. It all made sense. She had thought it would be fire, because of the dragon that had been guarding it, she hadn't even considered water.

"Yeah," Harry said, confused at Valkyrie's suddenly serious tone. "Why?"

"I think I know how to solve the clue," Valkyrie replied rising from her spot on the long bench. "Water. We need to put it under water. Come on."

Minutes later, after a hectic fight back up the marble staircase that many students were slowly descending, Valkyrie and Harry reached her room. Valkyrie hurried inside, kicking her discarded clothes under the bed before Harry could see them. She crossed the room, throwing open the cabinet that stood underneath the window, searching for the egg that she had thrown in there a few weeks ago when she had lost her temper with it. After a moment of rummaging she found it, hidden underneath a Hogwarts towel. Getting up, she turned and strode into the en suite bathroom, Harry following her.

It wasn't anything special, just a bath with golden taps, a sink and an old toilet that was emblazoned with the Hogwarts emblem. It was nothing compared to the huge hall they had just come from. She turned on the taps, after throwing the plug into the plughole, and sat down on the edge of the bath, setting the egg down on the floor as the sound of running water began to fill the silence that had enveloped them.

"Val," Harry said slowly, joining her on the edge of the bath. "Are you... are you alright? At breakfast you seemed a bit, I don't know, just not yourself. I didn't want to say anything in front of Ron because, well, he's Ron, but are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Valkyrie lied, her eyes on the floor. A part of her wanted to tell him, a part of her just wanted to tell anyone, to get it off her mind, rather than bury it and let it fester in the dark corners of her mind like it had been all morning. Skulduggery had left, once she had convinced him that she was okay, to make calls, try and find out who Voldemort's mystery partner in all this was. She had hoped that with Skulduggery off working the case her fears would diminish, but they hadn't. They were still there and they were worse than ever. But she couldn't tell Harry, he wouldn't understand, only Skulduggery understood. After all, he'd been through it.

"No, you're not." Harry said. "Look, Val, we're friends. I just want to help but if you don't want to talk about it, I get it."

Valkyrie sighed, running a hand through her hair. She had to tell him something, if only fraction of the truth. "There's a prophecy, in my world, about a sorceress who is going to kill the world. No one knows when but they do know it's going to happen. Voldemort, I don't know who told him, but he found out about her somehow. He's the one that sent Tanith after me, whoever told him about her I'm their price. I've got to die for Voldemort to get her and then she's going to end the world."

"Who?"

"Darquesse," Valkyrie said, looking into his eyes, her voice sound hollow, dead. "She's going to kill everyone, I've seen that future, whole cities were levelled completely, she kills everyone, she kills my parents."

Valkyrie felt her jaw clench, her fists were balled, her nails digging hard into her skin. Fear-fuelled anger was crashing over her. Her heart was racing, hammering against her chest. She could feel herself shaking. All the anger and the fear that had stayed pent up inside her for so long was bubbling over the surface. But she tried not to show it. Tried not to let him see it.

"Val, I'm -"

"No, don't say you're sorry, just don't, okay? They're not dead yet. I'm still fighting and as long as I'm still fighting he can't get he, he won't get her."

"But why would she do that?" Harry asked, his voice almost a whisper. "Why would anyone do that?"

"She's insane. She doesn't need a reason. She'll kill everyone because she can, because she enjoys it. It's what happens when you discover your true name, you go mad with power and it's almost impossible to save you from yourself."

"But it hasn't happened yet, you can still stop it happening."

_That's what you think. But we both know there is no stopping me now. Don't we?_

Valkyrie wanted to tell the voice in her head to shut up, and if Harry hadn't been there she probably would have. As it was she just gave Harry a tight smile and did her best not to reach to her words.

"Yeah," she replied."Maybe."

Harry opened his mouth to say something but they were interrupted as the water in the bath began to spill over onto the floor. They jumped up, Valkyrie quickly turning off the taps thankful that she was wearing her coat, while Harry dried himself with the towel that hung on the back of the door. If Valkyrie had had any control over water she would have dried his clothes in an instant, as it was she had to watch as he desperately tried to dry the damp patch on his robes. It was hard not to laugh and Valkyrie found herself smiling despite herself. A lot of fears, the weight on her shoulders, seemed to dissipate after she had told him. But it was still there, nowhere near as strong but still there. Along with that anger that was still burning bright inside her. But she could deal with that, training would deal with that.

She slipped of her coat and yanked the plug, letting the water drain out of the bath for a few seconds, before putting it back in the plughole.

"Ready to find out what this clue is?" Valkyrie asked as she picked up the egg, getting ready to open it and praying that it wouldn't make that sound yet again. It made her want to kick something.

Harry nodded and together they stepped up to the edge of the bath before Valkyrie put the egg under the water and opened it.

Nothing happened.

"At least there's no wailing," Harry pointed out, looking at the egg with a mixture of surprise and happiness on his face. "That's something."

"Maybe we have to be underwater with it," Valkyrie suggested and before Harry could say anything she bent down and put head under the surface of the water. But instead of the usual wailing, as part of her had been expecting, she could hear eerie voices singing to her from the open egg.

'_Come seek us where our voices sound,  
We cannot sing above the ground,  
And while you're searching, ponder this:  
We've taken what you'll sorely miss,  
An hour long you'll have to look,  
And recover what we took,  
But past an hour - the prospect's black  
Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'_

She pulled herself back up; taking in a deep lungful of air, next to her Harry was kneeling down, listening to the voices song. Valkyrie sat down on the edge of the bath, waiting for Harry to resurface. Clicking her fingers, she summoned a flame and held it up, so as to get her hair dry, or at least not as wet as it was. She was nowhere near the stage in her training in water to be able to get herself dry that.

It was fairly clear what the song meant and it was nothing good. Something underwater was going to take something she valued above all else and she only had an hour to find it, if she didn't then it would be gone forever, lost underwater. So, not ominous at all then. It was also missing more than a few details. Most importantly what it was these creatures were going to take from her, she'd be damned if she was going to give it up without a fight.

At least one thing was obvious, there was only one place big enough for the champions to go searching for whatever it was that was going to be taken off them, the Black Lake. It was the only place on the Grounds that was deep enough and it was probably filled with its fair share of creatures, the Giant Squid for one. She just hoped there weren't any Sea Hags under the surface of the lake, she didn't fancy facing one of those again.

Harry surged up out of the water, his hand up to his face, pushing his hair out of his eyes. Quickly he put his glasses back on, his green eyes regaining their focus, before he looked at her with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

"Looks like we're going into the lake," Valkyrie said, throwing him the towel that he had discarded earlier.

"What can't speak above the water?" Harry asked, as he began to dry his sopping wet hair with the towel. "The song said that they can't be heard above the ground."

"Who knows? Something that lives in the lake probably. I'm more worried about what they're going take. Something we'll sorely miss? That can't be good."

"Someone," said a voice from the door, Valkyrie turned and saw Skulduggery standing there, leaning against the doorframe his arms folded and his hat pulled low over one empty eye socket. "Not something, Valkyrie, it's someone. That look suits you both, by the way, channelling your inner drowned rat, marvellous."

"How can you know that?" Valkyrie asked, ignoring everything after his little hint and sending him a glare for good measure. "The clue says nothing about it being a person."

"No," Skulduggery agreed. "It doesn't. However, Ludo Bagman did. I was talking to him a few weeks ago and he seemed very interested in making sure that Harry here wins the Tournament. Apparently he owes some delightful goblins a lot of money along with quite a few other people. If Harry wins he gets all the money he needs to pay them off and extra. I just happened to let it slip that I could give you a point in the right direction if I had the right information. That and he was very drunk at the time, unlike me he can't hold his liquor."

"You're a skeleton."

"That may have something to do with it," Skulduggery nodded. "But that's not my point. My point is, not only do I know what you have to do I also know who you have to save."

"Who?"

"An incredibly dashing, intelligent, brave, suave and sophisticated friend of yours. Who just happens to be the inspirational mentor that is teaching you to be a detective."

"Could you please stop boosting your ego for five minutes?"

"Never," Skulduggery announced happily. "My ego does not need to be kept in check, it's well deserved."

"Do you know who my hostage is going to be?" Harry asked quietly. For some reason, Valkyrie wasn't quite sure, most of her friends went quiet whenever they were talking to Skulduggery. Fred and George were the only two who didn't, they found the fact that he was a skeleton cool, much to Valkyrie's annoyance as it did little to help his already huge ego. Valkyrie didn't get it. For a few days, maybe a week, sure, but they had seen him for months now, surely they should be used to him. Although, Harry seemed to go quiet around anyone he didn't know well, he was quite shy now that she came to think about it.

"I don't," Skulduggery answered. "Although, it isn't likely to be anyone you know outside of school. It's safer and easier to use people who already know all about the Tournament and are somewhat involved. It can't be Valkyrie, so my guess would be that it's either the red haired boy or that girl, what's her name?"

"Hermione?"

"That's the one," Skulduggery said happily. "Though, it probably won't be her. They're going to need someone for Krum and it's easier using her than flying someone over from Bulgaria."

"So, I'm going to have to save Ron?"

"Probably." Skulduggery nodded. "Now, if you wouldn't mind excusing us, we have work to do."

"We do?" Valkyrie asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes," Skulduggery answered. "I need to teach you about water."

Over the course of the next few days Valkyrie could be seen in the Grounds, cold and drenched to the skin, practising the water element of Elemental Magic. She hated it. Never before had she been so cold and constantly wet. There was a reason she preferred air and fire, not only was it more use in a fight she as better at it. She was regretting not doing any water training at all, focusing solely on air and fire, Skulduggery had warned her against it and now she knew why. She had about two months to get her control over water to a good enough standard so as she could survive under the lake without drowning. The prospect wasn't looking likely. She was struggling to get to grips with the simple stuff. Every time she thought she was getting somewhere Skulduggery would add something else and she'd be back to where she started again.

But her training wasn't the only thing she had to worry about. The day after the trip to Hogsmeade, a newspaper was thrust in front of Valkyrie at breakfast. She looked up from her plate of bacon and eggs to see Harry holding the paper, his face serious, behind him Hermione was hovering a few feet away with a look of confliction on her usually sure face. Valkyrie arched an eyebrow but took the newspaper as Harry slid into the empty seat beside her.

"Hermione just showed it me," he explained. "You made the front page, look."

Looking down Valkyrie saw a large picture of herself, the one that had been taken at the Weighing of the Wands ceremony. Above the picture the headline proclaimed: _Victim or Villain?_

"What the hell?" Valkyrie found herself muttering. Next to her picture was the opening of the article written by none other than Rita Skeeter. Valkyrie knew it couldn't be good. Sighing she began to read:

_There have been rumours circling around Valkyrie Cain, 17, the last and fifth champion of the Triwizard Tournament that is taking place at Hogwarts this year. Ever since her shock arrival at Hogwarts in November after her name mysteriously came from the Goblet of Fire there have been questions about her background, questions that have only escalated in the light of recent events. Miss Cain is not like you or I, she is not a witch, nor is a she a muggle, in fact Miss Cain is a sorceress. She has no need for a wand and some of the magic she has performed during this Tournament has been dangerous and questionable at best. _

_But it is not just her magic that is dangerous. On the night of the Yule Ball Valkyrie Cain and her associate Skulduggery Pleasant were hunted down and attacked by two highly dangerous, lethal, trained killers who infiltrated the Hogwarts Grounds to reach their target, Miss Cain. Why would a young girl, such as Miss Cain, have professional and wanted killers after her? Is it just that she helped to arrest them as Valkyrie was overheard telling her friend and fellow champion, Harry Potter? Or is there something far darker that is being hidden from us? Miss Cain has already revealed herself to be a practitioner of Necromancy (Death Magic) in the First Task of this Tournament, a Tournament that she should not be involved in. Though, she claims to have no knowledge of how she was entered, is this just another lie that she hides behind? _

_Continues on Page 2, 3 and 4._

"There's more," Harry told her as she set the paper down on the table. "A lot more. She reckons you're dangerous, Val. The magic you do, she doesn't get it, she thinks it's dark because of what our version of it is like."

"She blames you for what happened that night too." Hermione chimed in with that look of confusion still present on her face, like she wasn't sure whether or not to believe Skeeter.

"Seriously?" Valkyrie asked. "She thinks I go around looking for people to stab me?"

"She says if you hadn't been here then it wouldn't have happened." Harry said quickly before she could say anything else. "She's saying that you being here has put everyone's life at risk because of the people that are after you. Skeeter's saying there might be more and that the longer you're here the more we're at risk."

"But that's absurd." Valkyrie laughed.

"She makes a good case." Hermione pointed out.

"You don't believe her do you?"

"I don't know what to believe," Hermione snapped. "But she's got a point. They could have attacked any of us just as easily."

"But they didn't."

"Not this time."

"There isn't going to be another time," Valkyrie said angrily. "People from my world shouldn't be able to find me here, the only reason they did is because of Malfoy's dad. And even if there were another time do you really think they'd be stupid enough to attack a castle full of people? Two against all you, that's really good odds."

"They're professionals!" Hermione shrieked, gaining more than a few glances from the people that were nearby. "They almost killed you, they could've done the same to us."

"Right, because they would really want to attack school kids they don't even know." Valkyrie said sceptically, raising an eyebrow. "Skeeter wants to turn you all against me, can't you see that?"

Hermione's jaw clenched, along with her fists, but she didn't say anything, instead she just glared at Valkyrie. Skeeter's plan was already working. Hermione hadn't liked Valkyrie from the beginning and though they had started to build bridges it was clear that Hermione's suspicions hadn't gone away, all they needed was a little prompting, because you couldn't kill an idea. With a final glare Hermione spun on her heel and stalked out of the Great Hall, her bushy hair flying out behind her.

"She'll calm down," Harry said after a stunned silence.

Valkyrie just nodded and returned to her breakfast, though she didn't eat much, after her argument with Hermione she had lost her appetite.

Hermione wasn't the only one that Skeeter's article connected with, and by lunchtime the majority of the school, which was proving just how fickle it was, was against her yet again. Except this time she had a few friends left, Ron, Fred, George and Harry stuck by her. Part of Valkyrie felt guilty for the rift that seemed to being opening up between Ron, Harry and Hermione. Only part of her. Hermione had bought it on herself, she hadn't even listened to Valkyrie's argument, just stuck with the lie that she had been presented. That was her trouble, she could never accept being wrong.

But Hermione's reaction was not the one that Valkyrie was concerned with by the end of the day. Skulduggery had yet to see the article that Skeeter had printed, he had been teaching Valkyrie more about the water element and she had been far more focused on that than the stupid article that Skeeter had printed. However, when they were walking through the Entrance Hall, Valkyrie slowly trying to get the water out of her hair and the clothes that she had worn for training, a band t-shirt and faded jeans, Skulduggery saw the school's reaction to Skeeter's article.

"Is it me," Skulduggery began as two tall Ravenclaw's walked past them, both girls glaring at Valkyrie. "Or are those girls glaring at us because you're dripping on the floor?"

"I'm working on it," Valkyrie said, having successfully got the water out of her hair and turning her attention to the part of her that was still wet, her jeans. "And no, Skeeter wrote some stupid article and now everyone's on her side."

"She did what?" Skulduggery asked, coming to a halt, his head tilting.

"It's nothing, Skulduggery." Valkyrie assured him, giving up on trying to get the water out of her clothes while she was talking to him. "Just an article."

"Clearly they don't think it's nothing," Skulduggery said, nodding to the girls who strode into the Great Hall with haughty looks on their pretty faces. "What did she say?"

"Just trying to call my magic dark again," Valkyrie replied, sighing. "She's got it into her head that I'm evil or something, she even tried to pin Tanith's attack on me saying that she wasn't just annoyed with us for arresting..."

She frowned trailing off, no that wasn't right. Skeeter's article had said that Valkyrie had been overheard telling Harry that, but there had been no one else in the Hospital Wing, apart from Madam Pomfrey and she'd hardly go and tell Skeeter. How the hell had Skeeter known?

"But how did she know?" Valkyrie asked, looking at Skulduggery. "Skulduggery, how the bloody hell did she know? Harry didn't tell her and I'm sure the Weasley's wouldn't. Is she spying on me?"

But Skulduggery wasn't listening, he had his phone out and was dialling a number. He put the phone to his ear, or at least where his ear should be. "I warned her," he said as the phone rang. "I told her what would happen if she tried this again."

"Warned her about what?"

"Moz," Skulduggery said, talking to whoever was on the end of the phone call. "Is that you? Excellent. Look, you know that favour I asked you to do? Moz, I commend you for being cloak and dagger about this, I really do, but I don't have time for your-" he sighed. "There are many things of which the wise man might wish to be ignorant. Yes, I know it's me, I could just have told you that. As flattering as the concept is that someone would want to impersonate me is I doubt they would just talk to you, Moz. But I didn't call to get into an argument, I need you to leak that information I gave you to the _Daily Prophet_ by eight o'clock tonight. Yes. Yes, I know it's short notice. You'll be paid in cash, of course. Thank you."

"Okay," Valkyrie said after a second, when Skulduggery had pocketed his phone. "Who was that? And what information? Skulduggery, what's going on?"

"That was an old and incredibly paranoid friend of mine," Skulduggery answered. "Mozzie Haversham. He's a con-man and very good one, he was able to help me out in an investigation a few years ago, though, he hated every minute of it, he doesn't like 'the system' as he calls it. But he keeps me aware of what's going on and helps me out on occasion."

"But what was that about information?"

"How Rita Skeeter was able to know what you told Harry," Skulduggery told her. "She's an animagus, a witch or wizard who can turn into an animal at will. It's how she gets her stories, she spies on people as a bug, a beetle actually. However, it is illegal to be an unregistered animagus, I did some checking on she's not on the list. As we speak Moz is getting ready to give that information to the paper she works for. By tomorrow morning everyone will know and the Ministry will begin their investigation into her."

"She's going to lose her job."

"Yes," Skulduggery said. "I gave her fair warning. She chose her path. Everything she has ever written will be discredited, after all, who is going trust a criminal?"

"And that thing, the phrase thing, what was that?"

"It's a Ralph Emerson quote. Moz likes code phrases. I told you, he's paranoid."

"You just used a paranoid, con-man to take down one of the Prophet's lead writers. Ghastly's not going to be happy." Valkyrie said with a smile as Skulduggery led the way into the Great Hall. It really wasn't a good thing to be his enemy, Valkyrie reflected. It just wasn't good for anyone. Skulduggery had just lost Skeeter her job and was probably going to cause her to lose a great deal of money in fines and law suits, after all, she had obtained her stories illegally.

The best was that, in that moment, Valkyrie couldn't think of anyone else who deserved it more than Rita Skeeter.

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**AN: Okay, so I would like to thank Massacre13 for reading over a section of this for me and taking the time to go through it and give me a needed second opinion. Thank you for that. And while I'm thanking people thank you everyone who has reviewed and followed and favourited this story, it's great that you guys actually like this, a lot, so thank you. And last, I've just got to do a disclaimer on Whitecollar, for the referance at the end there. I don't own anything. Well, I do, just not of theirs. Anyway, hope you all liked it and thanks again.**


	12. A Question of Loyalty

Chapter 11: A Question of Loyalty

_The man with the golden eyes sighed as he listened to Skeeter's tirade. He wasn't truly listening, he had stopped listening a few minutes previously, now he was thinking about how much of his time she was wasting. He had not warned what the skeleton would do when she published the article he had paid her to write, of course he hadn't, she would not have written it if she had known his plan. It was key that she be removed from sight. Pleasant was a worthy adversary, Pleasant would discover his spy and he could not let that happen. Skeeter had to be removed. Or at least, she had to be removed from sight. With her career gone she was no longer needed in Hogwarts and therefore Pleasant would not suspect her to be the leaking the information. It was a game that the man knew how to play, Skeeter, however, did not. But there were ways of dealing with that._

"_I know you must be frustrated," the man said, cutting across Skeeter as she drew breath to continue her shouting. "But you must know that it was not my intention for you to be dragged into this."_

_A lie, of course, but lying was all part of the game. But the truth wouldn't get her on his side. Morals were all well and good in the lives of ordinary people. In the mundaine, dull lives of the mortals. But they could not be so easily applied to the man with the golden eyes. For him morals twisted and bent to suit his purpose and his needs, as did everything else. Everything and everyone._

"_Well I am involved in this!" Skeeter shrieked. The man was silently glad that he had sealed the office, as tedious as that was it was better than having people look in on them, it was better than people knowing what he planned and who the players were. That was the key to all this. Misdirection. Pleasant had already locked up Malfoy. That had been unfortunate. He wasn't supposed to know about Malfoy. Not yet, anyway. If Sanguine had kept quiet he wouldn't have known. It made things difficult. But that was to be expected. "You said you could protect me! I shouldn't have trusted you, any of you!"_

"_But you did," the man said in that same calm voice, looking at Skeeter with those golden eyes of his, they glittered in the rays of setting sun that cut through the office like a blade. "And I am sorry but I did not know that Pleasant had information that sensitive. If I had known maybe I could have protected you. As it is I can only offer a solution."_

"_Solution!" Skeeter screamed. "There is no solution! I have no job! They're fining me, did you know that? I've got law suits and fines to pay and with what? The Prophet refused to pay me!"_

"_Do not worry about the fines," the man said, holding up a hand. The fines. He knew they would be coming, of course he did, in fact he'd been relying on it. Paying someone like Skeeter only worked for so long, eventually she would turn on him, people like her always did. But there was a way to control them, manipulate them into being indebted, make them need you, rely on you. That was why she needed to be fired. Not just to draw away suspicion but to gain her loyalty, he needed someone under his absolute control. If she was caught, like Malfoy had been, he needed to know she would not betray him. "I can pay those for you."_

"_Thank you! Thank -"_

"_I did not say I would." The man said, getting to his feet turning away from her and facing the window. "There is one condition."_

"_Anything."_

_He smiled, people were so simple, all you had to do was find the right button to press. The right leverage. He could have asked her for anything under the sun, and in that moment he knew that she would give it him, because without him she was facing financial meltdown and possible jail time, he'd seen to that. Ever since he had conceived the plan to use the Tournament he had been handpicking people in the Ministry to work for him, nothing too taxing or noticeable, but they were there when he needed them. If Skeeter said no she would soon come crawling back when the threat of jail represented itself, all the man had to do was send a letter. It was not fair on Skeeter, not at all, but that was precisely why it would work._

"_All I ask is for your loyalty, Rita. Unquestioning and undying loyalty. Do you understand what that means?"_

"_Yes." came Skeeter's reply. _

"_I hope you do, Rita. Because if I think that you are going to go back on your word then it won't just be fines that you have to worry about. Do I make myself clear?"_

_The man watched her reflection give a nod and there was a hint hint of a fake smile on her quavering lips painted a horrible pink. _

"_Good." he lost his smile as he turned back to her. "You are to return to Hogwarts at your earliest convenience, which I suggest is soon, you wouldn't want me to think that you're having doubts now would you?"_

"_Hogwarts?" _

"_Yes, Hogwarts." She was cunning, ambitious and absolutely self-serving but intelligence was not in her repertoire. "How else do you expect to get your revenge on the man who wronged you? You do want revenge, do you not?"_

"_Yes," Skeeter said a predatory smile on her lips. "Pleasant must pay."_

"_You will send me weekly updates, I will let you know where and when the day before. Do not fail me, Miss Skeeter."_

_Skeeter opened her mouth to say something, probably thank him some more, maybe some grovelling and assurances she would not fail, but the man was already at the door and holding it open for her._

_Once she had left he returned to his position by the window, a faint smile on his face, though he rarely allowed himself such luxuries he felt it was apt. Skeeter had walked in an enemy and left a sworn ally. Pleasant and the girl no doubt thought they were safe once again, with Malfoy caught along with Low and Sanguine and Skeeter gone, all threats had been eliminated. _

_They were far from safe. _

_He knew that there really was little use for Skeeter, Voldemort already had a spy in Hogwarts. But the man refused to put more trust in the Dark Lord than was necessary. But she was there as a plan to fall back on, there was always a contingency plan, he had been waiting too long to rely on one man after all. There was always the chance that Voldemort could fail. Cain and Pleasant were not easy to kill. _

_The only reason the man was trusting Voldemort at all was that he provided the man with the perfect cover story for the death of Cain and Pleasant. It was a wizard tournament she had been dragged into and a wizard was going to kill her. The proof that linked Cain and Pleasant to Voldemort was already fabricated and sitting in the man's desk drawer. The Sanctuary wouldn't look too deeply for too long because of the long awaited war that threatened to consume them. It was perfect. No one would suspect him or anyone of foul play once the evidence was circulated through all the correct channels, unearthed by all the right people. _

_Soon it would all be over._


	13. The Task at Hand

**AN: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. There is, however, a good reason. It's 9k words long, something I've never done for a chapter length before, but I didn't think that it should be shortened. So here is a incredibly large chapter. I hope you guys like it and I should be back to regular updates next chapter.**

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Chapter Twelve: The Task at Hand

Thanks to Skulduggery's phone call and his strange friend Rita Skeeter was fined and fired from the Daily Prophet two days later in complete disgrace. The story that she had been an illegal animagus was soon in every newspaper and a few magazines that she had written for. The credibility of her stories plummeted, nobody was going to believe that someone like that could provide true stories with any basis of fact anymore. Hogwarts, was once again, divided. The Slytherins stuck to the story, claiming Valkyrie was violent and dangerous, mainly due to the damage that she and Skulduggery had inflicted on the Malfoy family. The rest of the school, however, soon did a complete u-turn and by Friday they were even claiming they had known all along that she hadn't done anything and that Skeeter's article was just vicious rumours. Valkyrie didn't care. She had given up caring about their opinion a long time ago.

Hermione, however, retained her frosty attitude throughout January. Though she was being civil with Valkyrie now there was a certain coldness in her words. Hermione had never liked Valkyrie and Valkyrie knew it. They were too different, while Hermione had broken rules before it was only in dire circumstances, most of the times she was straight laced and even sometimes commanding. Valkyrie was clearly expected to bow down to her superior knowledge on almost everything. Valkyrie refused, more out of sheer principal than anything else, being told what to do and to follow the rules just made her want to break them all the more, something Hermione hadn't quite grasped as she just continued to try and turn Valkyrie to her own way of thinking. It didn't work. There were also the suspicions that Hermione had held on to from the start of the year that were part of the problem as they had risen up, yet again, when Skeeter's article had been published and despite Skeeter being fired they were still there at the forefront of her mind.

However, Hermione was too busy trying to help Harry prepare for the Second Task to put all her energy into hating Valkyrie and seemed to almost forget the whole matter entirely whenever she got frustrated by the lack of information in the school library.

Valkyrie was having as much luck as Harry as the Second Task began to draw nearer and nearer, which was to say none at all. She could create a continuous bubble of air while in the water now but it wasn't anywhere near stable enough and didn't last anywhere near as long as she needed it to. Skulduggery seemed oblivious to this and kept pushing her, making her do it again and again, she knew it was for her own good but that didn't stop her complaining. It wasn't fun. But slowly she seemed to be getting there. It was their best shot. There were other ways to manipulate the water but they required more time, something that Valkyrie was rapidly losing. She had thought that almost two months would be plenty of time, but as she sat on the shore of the lake drenched and tired, she knew it wasn't.

"You're getting better," Skulduggery told her, his hands in his pockets as he strolled towards her from his position on the lake's surface. He liked walking on the lake, many of the Hogwarts students would stare and gasp, one even took pictures. Thankfully there were no students watching them, most were in the Great Hall, dinner had just started.

"Skulduggery I nearly drowned," Valkyrie scowled as she got the moisture out of her clothes and skin. That was the one thing she could do now. Before she had struggled, often making her skin too dry, but now she had mastered it, it was something at least.

"Yes, but you nearly drowned a lot deeper in the lake." Skulduggery pointed out.

"Yeah, because that's so much better." Valkyrie glowered, getting to her feet, slipping into her jacket. "Why is Elemental Magic so hard?"

"Just because you took to Necromancy so easily doesn't mean that you will find Elemental Magic as simple to master." Skulduggery said.

Valkyrie groaned, really wishing that it was the other way around.

"But we still have a month, that's plenty of time."

"Twenty-four days."

"Close enough," Skulduggery shrugged. "Valkyrie, if you were a mediocre Elemental then I would not suggest trying this, however, you are not and as such my plan will work."

"You have a plan?"

"I do," Skulduggery confirmed. "It is a good plan, nothing can grow wrong."

"With our luck?"

"Okay, it is unlikely anything will go wrong." Skulduggery conceded as they began to walk towards the castle. "You would have to be extraordinarily unlucky to drown down there. You might get pneumonia but you won't drown."

"Skulduggery, that's not helping."

"Sorry," Skulduggery said. There was a brief silence as they walked into the Entrance Hall. "I just thought that knowing you aren't going to drown would be comforting."

"Not when the alternative is pneumonia it isn't." Valkyrie grumbled. "People have died from that."

"Yes, but they don't these days. Instead they just tend to spend a few weeks in hospital recovering."

"Skulduggery," Valkyrie said feeling the slight knot in her stomach tighten. The Second Task was something that Valkyrie wasn't looking forward to. The rate of her success with water wasn't anywhere enar where it should be and she didn't want to make an idiot out of herself. After her success in the First Task people would be expecting an equally stunning performance. It wasn't that she wanted to do it for their benefit, she didn't. She just didn't want to look the fool. She wanted to win. She was hardly going to roll over, let the others beat her, she was going to win and she'd be damned if she let this beat her. But her determination didn't stop the butterflies. "Shut up."

"But I like talking," Skulduggery said ignoring her. "I'm rather good at it, quite accomplished really."

"Then talk about something else."

"Okay," Skulduggery fell silent for a moment, his head tilting. "Ghastly called."

"When?" Valkyrie asked.

"A few hours ago," Skulduggery answered as they walked into the Great Hall. "He was updating me on the trial. Sanguine has been sent to America."

"Seriously?" Valkyrie asked, arching an eyebrow. "He'll escape, we're lucky he didn't when we transferred him last time."

"Yes, but he would escape from our prison too. Wherever we put him he'll just get out eventually. However, we're sending him to America with a shorter sentence due to his co-operation with the Sanctuary in capturing a number of criminals that have thus far eluded us. In fact, he provided the vital evidence."

"You're joking." Valkyrie said. "Sanguine would never give us that kind of information."

"Yes, we know that, but everybody else doesn't. If he escapes I doubt he'll be able to go far without running in to the family or friends of the people he supposedly helped to arrest. The fact that he didn't has nothing to do with it. Either he escapes and runs the risk of their displeasure or he stays in the nice warm cell we've picked out for him for the next twenty years." Skulduggery said. "It's his choice."

"Either way he's in for it," Valkyrie grinned. That had always been the problem with Sanguine. One way or another he would escape, thanks to his little burrowing trick and the fact that shackles didn't affect him. The only way they had been able to keep him in Ireland so long to stand trial was the fact that Ghastly had set four Cleavers on him at all times, taking shifts, never letting him out of their sight. Ghastly had been determined to make him pay after Sanguine had run off with Tanith.

"Indeed," Skulduggery said. "Malfoy's staying put as well, he requested to be moved back over here but they refused due to the contacts that he has."

"Good," Valkyrie hadn't wanted them to be kind to Malfoy. He deserved it. Despite everything Skeeter had written Malfoy was to blame for the attack, not her, people like him didn't deserve to be treated with kindness. "What about Tanith? Any news?"

"None," Skulduggery replied with a sigh. "Nye's still working on her though. It's hopeful. If anyone stands it'll be Nye as loathed as I am to admit we need it."

"Do you think it will work?" Valkyrie asked. "Getting the Remnant out after so long? Do you think we can do it?"

"I don't know," Skulduggery answered. "It's never been done before. Whenever the Remnant left the host, voluntarily or sucked out by the Soul Catcher, the host died. Tanith stands a better chance than anyone else up to this point and Ghastly is giving Nye everything we can spare. But honestly, Valkyrie, I don't know. Nobody will until it happens."

"I hate waiting."

"I know," Skulduggery said. "But she stands a chance, that's more than anyone else had."

Valkyrie nodded and took her place at the Gryffindor table. Skulduggery bid her goodbye, claiming to have lost his appetite which got him an incredulous stare from Ron. Valkyrie started to eat and talk to Harry and Ron, Hermione was still in the library looking up ways to survive underwater, but all the while thoughts of Tanith were at the forefront of her mind.

She missed Tanith. She missed the person that she had been able to talk to no matter what. Back in Ireland all she had had was the reflection, with Tanith gone, but now there was a chance to get her back. The thought of getting Tanith back had never seemed real, after all she had been on the run with Sanguine and never been caught. Now it hit Valkyrie with full force, she might actually be able to get Tanith back, to get her friend back, not the Remnant version of her. She just hoped that Tanith didn't remember everything that the Remnant had seen and done because the Remnant knew about Darquesse, the Remnant knew everything. It had happened before. But it was rare and only ever bits and pieces. She wouldn't remember, would she? Valkyrie shook herself, dismissing it, that wasn't important. What was important was getting Tanith back. No matter the cost.

The next few days past quickly for Valkyrie, training taking up most of her time, and soon they ran into weeks. The lake was now attracting Krum as well, who would dive in a few times a day and disappear into the depths. Clearly he had worked out the clue but he didn't look happy about it, just surly, though that seemed to be his permanent state of being. Even at the Yule Ball Krum had never cracked a smile once, at least not when Valkyrie had seen him, though she hadn't been there for very long.

Down in the lake Valkyrie was slowly making progress. The bubble of air that encapsulated her head and kept oxygen flowing into her lungs was becoming more and more stable with each attempt she had. However, the problem was sustaining that bubble and delving into the depths of the lake quickly by using the water. Valkyrie was having trouble using the currents to propel her along while keeping the bubble around her head. More than once the bubble had vanished due to Valkyrie's over concentration on the currents and Skulduggery had had to intervene and that was without the monsters that Valkyrie was sure they would put into the lake on the twenty-forth. It would not be just as easy as swimming for an hour, freeing whoever was down there, and swimming back up.

Harry wasn't fairing anywhere near as well as Valkyrie. The search of the library still wasn't complete, due to the sheer amount of books, volumes and tomes on the dusty shelves, but it was getting close and still Harry had found nothing. Valkyrie would have offered to help but she had her own problems, that and the fact that she hadn't extensive reading which seemed to be Hermione's solution to everything. Skulduggery was always better at that than she was.

"It's no use," Ron huffed as he slumped down into his place at the Gryffindor table, Harry sitting opposite Valkyrie a moment later. "There's nothing there, mate. We've been through all of those bloody books."

"There has to be something," Hermione insisted, taking the place next to Valkyrie, her preoccupation with the failings of her precious library meant that she forgot she wasn't on good terms with Valkyrie. Valkyrie for her part ignored her and looked at Ron who was piling slices of beef on to his plate bad temperedly. "We just haven't found it yet."

"Still having no luck?" Valkyrie asked.

"No," Harry answered, pouring himself some pumpkin juice. "Not a single thing."

"That's because there isn't anything." Ron said, now moving onto the roast potatoes. "We've read every book, Hermione."

"No we haven't," Hermione protested. Valkyrie recognised the signs of what was a bout to happen, as did Harry, who was sitting back away from the two of them. Arguing was one of the things that Ron and Hermione were just as good at as one another and as result they were constantly bickering and sniping at one another. Part of Valkyrie was amazed they were friends, the way they constantly bickered and argued. "There's still some books in the Restricted Section and I went and asked Professor McGonagall for copies of books they've set over the past couple of years for the years above us."

"You want us to go through them as well?" Ron asked incredulously. "Face it Hermione there's no way we're going to find anything that's going to get Harry to breathe underwater for an hour."

"They wouldn't make a task that you couldn't do!" Hermione snapped. "If we had done human transfiguration we might be able to work around it. You'd be able to turn into a submarine or something, Harry."

Valkyrie resisted the temptation to laugh at the image of Harry swimming into the lake with a periscope sticking out of his head before turning into a gigantic submarine. Though, she doubted that would work, the lake might be huge but submarines weren't exactly small. He'd probably get stuck.

"You could try Gillyweed," someone said to Valkyrie's left. A round faced boy that Valkyrie vaguely recognised as being in Harry's year was standing there looking incredibly uncomfortable. Almost as if he was scared they'd shout at him or tell him to go away. His cheeks were already turning red under the gaze the four of them.

"What?" Ron asked with his usual diplomacy and tact.

The boy fumbled about in his bag for a second, taking out a large and pristine book. Gently he laid it out on the table and began flicking through the pages before stopping at a picture of what Valkyrie thought looked like slimy rat tails. The boy pointed at the rat tails. "Gillyweed," he repeated. "It's from the Mediterranean, my Nan's promised to get me some in the summer so I can start growing it."

"That's great, Neville, but how does that help?" Harry asked.

"It'll make you breathe underwater." Neville answered, grinning sheepishly as Hermione began to pour over the page.

"Rat tails?" Valkyrie asked sceptically.

"Gillyweed," Neville insisted.

"But you've got to admit they do look like rat tails,"

Neville looked flustered and Valkyrie was sure that Hermione would have shot her a glare if he wasn't so busy reading.

"You're sure it'll work, Neville?" Harry asked before the shy boy turned any redder.

"So long as the lake isn't salt water, yeah." Neville answered. "You've just got to eat it before you go into the water and it'll make you breathe."

"The lake isn't salt water," Valkyrie said as Ron made a face, clearly disgusted at the prospect of having to eat the rat tails. "Trust me."

"Neville, you're a genius." Ron said and Valkyrie thought that he had just realised that Neville had provided him a way out of staying in the library for the last week before the task. Valkyrie had never seen him grin so widely. "That's brilliant!"

"I helped?"

"Helped, Neville you gave us the answer." Ron beamed. "Harry can do the task and I don't have to go back to the library."

Hermione, who had been engrossed in the book, looked up with a glare. Ron's words sparked yet another argument between the two, Hermione taking his words against the library as a personal insult. Valkyrie watched, trying not to laugh, and moved over to Harry while the fight continued so as not to be deafened by Hermione's shouts. They soon stopped when Professor McGonagall appeared, a scowl on her face, and took points off them for disorderly conduct in the Great Hall. Valkyrie couldn't help it, she laughed.

Time was starting to behave strangely as the task drew nearer and nearer. It wasn't like the First Task, Valkyrie had been confident for that, she was ready, prepared. But this was different. While she was still confident, a tinge of nervousness gnawed away at her. In the last few days before the task she finally began to get the hand of the water. But she was nowhere near as well prepared as she had been last time. She kept comparing it to that. She had known what she was going to face then too, but this was different, she was actually nervous. She didn't admit it to anyone other than Skulduggery, of course.

On the final night Skulduggery and Valkyrie sat on the shore of the lake, he had his hat on his knee and humming to himself while Valkyrie dried herself off. They had gone into the lake for the last time. It had been weird knowing that that was it. Now there was nothing she could do. She had done everything.

"You're going to be fine," Skulduggery assured her. "Just don't let me stay down there for too long. It's going to ruin my suit if you do."

"I'll try," Valkyrie laughed. "Though, you could have worn something else."

"I could have," he nodded. "But I like to make a good impression. We're going to be watched by every student after all, why would I wear anything else? Besides, this is my worst suit, I won't be sorry to see it go."

"I didn't think I'd seen it before."

"You haven't." Skulduggery said. "And after an hour underwater I doubt you will again."

"I prefer your other ones." Valkyrie wasn't lying, it wasn't that good a suit and it was nowhere near as sharp as his other ones. There was a dark stain on the sleeve, it looked like dried blood. Idly she wondered what case he had been working on to get blood on the dark grey suit he was wearing. "Why have you still got that one?"

"I didn't know that I had," he confessed. "I found it at the back of my wardrobe last time I was in Ireland. I knew that it would come in useful one day so I bought it back with me. Admittedly I never thought it would be because I would be held hostage at the bottom of a lake."

"When are they going to come and get you?" Valkyrie asked.

"Soon I expect," he replied. "They're going to need time to explain what is going on and put the charm on the others."

"They won't put it on you?"

"I doubt it," Skulduggery answered. "There is little point, after all, I'm a skeleton I don't need to breath underwater. Most of the charms they'll be putting on the hostages will be for protection."

"They'll still knock you out though," Valkyrie said. "Otherwise they'll just drop you down there and you could swim back up. It'd save me having to go in at all."

"It would," Skulduggery agreed. "So you're probably right."

"I usually am."

"But not as often as I am," Skulduggery said. "I am right an alarming amount of the time, it almost amazes me sometimes."

"Almost?"

"Naturally, if it did surprise me then that would imply that I am unaware of how great I am."

Valkyrie was about to say something but she was interrupted by a small, nervous cough behind them. She turned and saw a small, thin boy with a camera hanging around his neck with a startled look of awe on his face as he stared at Skulduggery.

"Can I help you?" Skulduggery asked mild bemusement in his voice. The tiny boy gave a little gasp, a grin spreading a across his face as he continued to stare at Skulduggery.

"I've been told to take you up to Professor McGonagall." The boy squeaked. Skulduggery nodded and donned his hat before getting up from his position next to Valkyrie on the boulder. She joined him, there wasn't much point staying outside on her own. Together they walked towards the castle. The boy, Valkyrie wasn't sure about his name, she knew it began with a 'c' but that was as far as it went, was talking to Skulduggery at a rapid pace about the task's and how impressed he was of Valkyrie's fight with the dragon. Valkyrie was too busy trying to remember his name to listen. Charles? Christopher? Colin? That was it. Colin.

By the time they reached the Entrance Hall Colin was asking for a picture of Skulduggery to show his parents, mainly his dad, he was a milkman. He had already sent home pictures of Valkyrie from the _Daily Prophet _but so far Skulduggery had eluded their cameras. Skulduggery happily agreed, Valkyrie didn't doubt that part of his motivation was just to shut Colin up, he never seemed to stop talking. Although, his ego would no doubt be the main driving force for his agreement. Colin had, after all, just spent the last few minutes telling him how great he was. Colin was just asking if he could take it out McGonagall's office when Skulduggery stopped at the foot of the marble staircase.

"I would like a quick word with my partner, Colin. That is if we are not on a schedule?" Skulduggery asked and before Colin had chance to say anything Skulduggery continued. "Excellent. I knew you would understand. I won't be a minute."

Skulduggery led her away from Colin who looked a little confused and lost standing on the first step with his mouth a little open.

"He's a bit full on, isn't he?"

"I don't think that quite does it justice." Skulduggery muttered. "At least you don't have another three floors to listen to him."

"You lead such a hard life," Valkyrie said sarcastically.

"We all have our crosses to bear," Skulduggery shrugged. "Mine just happens to be heavier than yours."

"Cheers, because diving into a lake that's going to be crawling with monsters is so much easier than dealing with an overzealous fan."

"I'm going to be in the lake too."

"You'll be knocked out," Valkyrie pointed out. "You won't even notice. You'll be like my own damsel in distress."

"I am not a damsel," Skulduggery said. "I don't have the figure for it."

"Yeah, but I'll still be saving you."

"It doesn't count, I am not in any real danger. Even if I was I still wouldn't be a damsel."

"You're totally a damsel," Valkyrie grinned. "I've saved you from a castle. Damsels get locked in castles. Admit it. You, the legendary Skulduggery Pleasant, are a damsel and I'm you're not in shining armour."

"That is not funny," Skulduggery said, his voice lacking still holding its good humour, however. It soon turned serious, though. "How are you feeling? Are you ready?"

"I'm grand," Valkyrie nodded. There wasn't much else she could do to be any better and as long as she didn't lose concentration she could keep the bubble going for as long as she needed it to. She just hoped it was enough. It had to be. She would be damned if she was going to play the fool. "Why, you losing faith in me?"

"Never," Skulduggery said before looking back to Colin who was now doing a weird sort of movement on the spot, moving from one foot to the other, as though he was trying to contain his excitement. He sighed. A moment later he took his phone from his pocket and held it out for Valkyrie to take. "I just renewed my contract. It would be a shame to break it."

"I don't think you could get a new one around here."

"Probably not." Skulduggery agreed. "See you tomorrow."

"See you." Valkyrie smiled and watched as he walked back towards Colin whose grin widened as he began to talk at the rapid speed of his. Pocketing the phone Valkyrie waited a minute before starting her own ascension of the marble staircase towards her room, making sure that she wasn't going to bump into Colin on the way up. She didn't want to have to hit him.

The next morning, after a fitful night of sleep, Valkyrie dressed in her black protective clothing, part of her regretting that she didn't have anything more appropriate. However, if there were monsters down there a swimsuit would do little good in saving her life. She made her way down to breakfast an hour before the task. It was weird, walking down there alone, without Skulduggery by her side. By that time he was probably already in the lake, bound and knocked out no doubt. But it was still odd. It didn't stop there. Breakfast was a disturbingly unfamiliar affair. With Ron and Hermione down in the lake it was only Valkyrie and Harry, who had a shy and nervous looking Neville in toe, at breakfast. Harry was looking pale and hardly touched his breakfast, preferring to sit in silence, staring at the golden plate.

Valkyrie forced herself to eat, though she didn't feel like it. It was stupid not to eat before anything like this, she had gone up against bad guys on an empty stomach before and had regretted it. It didn't matter what it was that she ate, as long as it was something to keep her going, to keep the muscles working and banish the hollow feeling gnawing inside her stomach. Nerves and hunger were not a good combination.

"I can't swim." Harry said quietly as Valkyrie was finishing off her last slice of toast.

"Seriously?" Valkyrie asked, arching an eyebrow in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that.

He shook his head. "My Aunt and Uncle never gave me lessons. They probably hoped I'd drown someday."

Valkyrie didn't say anything. Harry never talked about his relatives. All she knew was that he didn't like them and they weren't overly fond of him. But she didn't know how bad it was and she knew that she probably never would. Harry was shy and a very private person, if he hadn't been a champion Valkyrie doubted she would have even spoke to him, he wasn't really the type of person she chose for a friend. Generally she didn't like people who were insecure. But he had grown on her. There was more to him than what she saw on the surface.

After a moment Neville spoke. "The Gillyweed will deal with that. Professor Moody gave me an article on people who've taken it. He's the one who gave me the book in the first place. Apparently they tested it on a group of non-swimmers in France a few years ago and all of them were swimming better than some professionals after a small dose."

"Moody?" Valkyrie frowned. She had a distant memory of Harry saying something about Moody helping him with the First Task, so much for Hogwarts' impartiality. Dumbledore might not want to help his students but clearly Moody had other ideas. But why would Moody help Harry? She could understand Hagrid or McGonagall, but Moody, from what she had heard he didn't know Harry apart from his legend. Maybe there was something she didn't know. Maybe he was just being odd. That she could understand, he was nothing but odd, he was quite creepy with that eye. It was probably nothing, after all, Durmstrang and Beauxbaton were cheating and Valkyrie herself wasn't playing by the rules. Cheating seemed to be an integral part of the Tournament.

"Yeah," Neville nodded. "Professor Sprout told him I'm good at Herbology and when I asked him about Gillyweed he said he had something I might like to see. It was quite interesting actually."

"So, you're saying I'm going to be able to swim, Neville?"

"Yeah, you should be able to."

"Should? What do you mean 'should'?"

But before Neville could say anything Professor McGonagall had appeared out of nowhere and was informing them that the champions were needed down by the lake. She didn't move until they were both on their feet, Harry was now even paler than before, and walking out of the Great Hall.

"You'll be fine," Valkyrie said once they were out into the cool air. "Like he says most of them were fine."

Harry just nodded, his jaw was tight and the last minute nerves were clear on his face. Valkyrie wanted to say something, but she couldn't think of the words. Understanding what he was going through and being able to stop it were two different things. If she could she would have stopped her own butterflies. But for her that was all it was. She had faced worse, after all. That didn't stop her nerves but it was something to reassure her. Something that would help her tell herself that she going to be okay, that she was going to get Skulduggery out. It helped. It didn't stop it. But it helped. There was no way to get rid of them completely. They would always be there if she had time to think, time to stop rather than just run head in. She preferred blind optimism.

Bagman, Fleur and Krum were already waiting for them along with their respective judges, the bespectacled boy that was replacing Crouch and Ghastly who gave Valkyrie a smile from his spot on the judges table. Only Dumbledore was missing, along with the students that were going to fill the empty stands that had been assembled on the shore of the lake.

"Everyone ready?" Bagman asked happily, practically bouncing with excitement, a grin plastered on his boyish face. "All got your clues figured out?"

There was some nodding, Fleur looked impatient as though she wanted to start pacing like she had done on the day of the First Task. Krum refused to shown any sign that he had heard Bagman but was staring at the reflective surface of the lake his eyes cold and calculating. They fell into an awkward silence, Bagman's barely contained joy doing little to help Valkyrie's nerves. Slowly the stands began to fill up and Diggory soon joined them, along with Dumbledore, who was smiling serenely.

As soon as the stands were filled and the rest of the judges, apart from Bagman, were seated Bagman wished them luck before speaking to the crowd that had assembled with a quick incantation to amplify his voice. Valkyrie was trying to keep her nerves steady but it was a losing battle. She was just glad that it wasn't like the First Task, the waiting had been torture, they were all going in at once now. There was no delay, no time for her to start freaking out.

"Welcome to the Second Task! Our champions have each had something precious taken from them and each have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from the depths of the lake. The task will start on my whistle." He held up the tiny whistle that hung around his neck. "One... two... three!"

The whistle's shrill blast was met with a roar of cheers from the crowd. Valkyrie ignored them, trying to keep calm, this would only work if she was calm. It wasn't like the rest of her magic, she had only spent two months practising. She had had years perfecting fire and air, but water she was just a beginner, she needed to be calm. She stepped away from the shore, moving to the boulder that she had been sitting on with Skulduggery only hours before, just as they had practised. The crowd were muttering to themselves, probably wondering what she was doing, but she ignored them. It was part of the plan.

She zipped up her jacket, making sure that there was no bare flesh that could be turned to ice by the water other than her face and hands. Taking a deep breath she steadied herself. One good dive. That's all she needed. One good dive. She got into position on the edge of the boulder and dived. The water crashed around her as she plummeted deep into the waves, the icy water was just as cold as she remembered. She held up her hand, concentrating, doing what Skulduggery had taught her, creating a bubble around her head, manipulating the water away from her mouth so as she could breathe.

With the bubble in place she opened her eyes, thankful that it covered her entire head, the cold water had stung her eyes when it had just encompassed her mouth and nose. Her vision was blurry but it didn't make much difference. She could only see a few feet in front of her without it and there wasn't much to see.

Slowly she let herself be taken by the subtle currents of the supposedly still lake. She could feel them pushing and pulling, a barely noticeable mass of conflicting forces. It was almost unnoticeable and without her training she doubted she would have felt it. But it was definitely there and she was a part of it. And now she was swimming, diving deeper into the dark lake, pushed by the suddenly surging currents behind her, propelling her faster and deeper.

Forests of weeds rippled below her, clinging to the slimy rocks that made up the surface of the lake. She swam above them, avoiding the larger and darker rocks that made up small formations around her, images of vicious creatures lying in wait behind them flashed through her mind. She had no intention of being fish food anytime soon.

And then, out of nowhere, a thin, skeletal hand grabbed her. She spun, crying out in shock, bubbles bursting in furious torrent from her mouth. Her vision had cleared, no longer hazy and blurred, water was filling her mouth. The bubble around her head had vanished and it was all she could do to not suck in the icy water. The horned creature bared its tiny fangs as it started to yank her down, she flailed but it was useless, her arms and legs dragged slowly in the water.

More creatures were rising out of the weeds, the bony hands reaching for her. Valkyrie couldn't breathe. She needed to breathe. Blood was hammering hard in her ears but she continued to kick and fight. She couldn't give up. She needed to get them off. She needed to breathe. The black ring felt cold against her fist, colder than the icy water that had numbed her skin, so cold it burned.

A wave of shadows crashed into the creature sending it spiralling through the water, dark blood trailing behind it. She might not be able to fight effectively but the shadows faced no such problems. Another fistful of shadows was sent into the two creatures that were reaching for her neck. She couldn't hold her breath much longer. Her vision flickered. She wasn't going to make it.

She lashed out with a final wave of darkness, blindly hoping to strike another one of those foul things. The creatures let her go, the fingers that had dug painfully into her legs and arms released her. She could move. Raising her hand Valkyrie tried to ignore the hammering in her head, the burning in her lungs. All she needed was one gulp of air. She just had to concentrate. She wasn't going to let this beat her. All she needed to do was breathe. Darkness was seeping into her vision now, but she closed her eyes, letting everything going black, focusing on the one thing that mattered.

She gasped, sucking in a lungful of air. Air. She almost laughed as she spluttered and breathed. Her lungs stopped burning, her brain stopped spinning. She kicked up, moving away from the sickly green creatures that were watching her warily from the weeds, all the while taking in deep breaths of precious air. That had been close. Too close.

She didn't slow down for another few minutes, using the currents to propel her along even faster than before. If it hadn't been for those things she was almost having fun. It had been years since she had last been able to do any swimming, any real swimming. She missed it. With her training she was an even better swimmer than she had been before and she found herself close to enjoying the sensation of kicking through the water.

As the darkness began to deepen she held up her other hand, feeling for the movement in the water, just as she did with the air. She didn't want another surprise attack like the last one. It would give her a few seconds warning, which was something at least. But there was nothing, no movement, not even the fish that she had passed when she had escaped the creatures. She was alone down here. Darkness was pressing in on her at all sides, the silence was almost deafening. Just as she was starting to get desperate she heard something in the darkness, an all too familiar song.

The egg's song, those same eerie voices were echoing through the darkness, calling to her. She turned in the water, the currents buffeting her towards the sound. Refusing to slow down Valkyrie swam towards the music, ignoring the large rocks that loomed out of the darkness at her. She only slowed when stone dwellings, crude in structure and stained with algae and a variety of other things that Valkyrie didn't dare to think about. The tiny village looked as though it had been built by an idiot craftsman. The many houses were put together haphazardly and with little finesse.

As Valkyrie swam by grey skinned creatures looked out at her from their houses, their yellow eyes bright in the darkness. They looked like people, except they had green hair and pointed, yellow teeth that looked as though they would have no trouble taking a chunk out of her flesh. And then, one of the grey skinned people swam out from the house to get a better look at her and she saw the powerful, silver fishtail. Merpeople. Except these didn't look anything like the Disney characters. Their faces were hard and many were scared. The one that had swum out next to Valkyrie was clutching a spear with one hand, his fingernails were chipped and broken and stained with something that looked like blood.

Valkyrie swam as fast as she could, avoiding the hostile gaze of the merpeople, following the song. As she made her way through the village it was getting louder and louder and then as she rounded a row of houses she saw the source. A choir of merpeople, singing in front of what Valkyrie guessed what meant to be a statue of a heroic merperson. On what she supposed was the tail of the gigantic statue were four people, tied securely in place and guarded by the largest and the most vicious looking merpeople Valkyrie had seen. The hostages seemed to be asleep. Ron's head had lolled back and was resting on Hermione's shoulder. Two other girls that Valkyrie didn't recognised were tied next to them. They were all asleep, all except the one unbound hostage who was sitting with his legs crossed on the statue. Skulduggery gave Valkyrie a wave as she approached.

She arched an eyebrow at him and then looked to the fallen ropes that were floating by his ankles, severed and cut. He shrugged and took out a long, thin knife from his inside jacket pocket. She should have known that he wasn't just going to stay stunned in the water and let her save him, not after their conversation the previous night. His ego wouldn't allow her to be right. The guards around him were glaring at him, clearly upset that he had escaped his bonds, one was holding a thick rope and looked upset that he wouldn't have the chance to bind him again.

Skulduggery tilted his head, as if asking why they hadn't started to swim away yet. Valkyrie felt like rolling her eyes. How had he broken the enchantment? Why had he? Probably just to prove that he could. This was going to lose her points she just knew it. Sighing she planted her foot on the stone tail and kicked off, Skulduggery at her side a moment later, and together they swam up and away from the merpeople, up into the darkness.

If they had been able to speak Valkyrie was sure that Skulduggery would no doubt already be speaking, though she was glad that neither of them could, because she knew that if he had been able he probably would have ended up insulting the merpeople. Rescuing him from a horde of angry merpoeple wasn't an appealing option and she was glad that it hadn't been one.

As they swam up in silence they passed what looked like Harry swimming in the other direction. The creature had Harry's jet black hair and was wearing his robes but his skin was a light green and instead of feet he had flippers. His hands were also webbed and his fingers were long. On the side of his neck Valkyrie was sure that she could see gills. She frowned, remembering what Neville had said were the effects of Gillyweed, it was Harry. He grinned up at her as he passed before changing his direction and diving straight down, going where he had seen her and Skulduggery rise up from.

Valkyrie could feel her legs getting tired as she continued to kick up towards the surface. She could see the light now, seeping through the darkness above her. She was going to make it, she wanted to laugh, remembering her nerves. This had been easy, almost too easy. One attack, that was it, no monsters, nothing like the creatures down in the caves at her uncle's house. Nothing like she had been expecting. She turned to look at Skulduggery, her supposed hostage, ready to share a smile or something, maybe a nod of acknowledgement. But there was none of that, not even a shared look. As she turned something moved in the darkness, something big, something was out there. She reached out to touch him, to give him warning, but she didn't get chance. A huge tail, vast and dark, slammed into him and sent into the darkness of the lake and out of sight.

She wanted to scream his name, to go swimming after him, to make sure he was okay, but before she could even move that tail had snapped back and hit her hard in the chest. Pain exploded in her chest, despite the clothes she was wearing absorbing some of the impact. She cried out and was sent spiralling into the depths of the lake. She couldn't tell which was way was up, there was darkness all around her as she spun out of control.

The bubble around her head was gone and she struggled to get it in place, to calm her hammering heart, she couldn't do it. She needed to calm down but she couldn't see Skulduggery or whatever it was that had hit it. Blood was pounding in her ears, her heart was racing and her head felt light as once again the air escaped her lungs. She tried to shut off the panic, if she was above ground she was sure she would have been taking big, deep, calming breaths, but that wasn't going to happen. She reached out again, feeling the water, feeling how it pressed and moved her. This was going to be easy. All she had to do was what Skulduggery had taught her. It was going to be easy. Her head felt light. She couldn't do it. She was going to drown down here. She shook herself and tried again but nothing happened. She wanted to scream, frustration and fear boiling up inside her, this was not helping.

She closed her eyes, her head was spinning now, she needed air. She held up her hand once more, focusing on the water, ignoring the pain that throbbed in her chest and the panic that threatened to overthrow her. She ignored all that, feeling the water move and churn, and then she flexed her hand and felt it, the water around her head, and she did Skulduggery had told her and prayed it would work.

She gulped down the air, feeling as though she had never actually breathed properly before, that this was her first real breath. She felt herself smiling. But she didn't have time to celebrate, she needed to find Skulduggery. She held out her other hand, feeling the currents, searching for whatever it was that had ambushed them. Something was behind her, moving fast, too fast, faster than any normal fish and it was big too.

She kicked out, her tired muscles screaming at her. But she ignored them as she whirled in the water, readying a fist of shadows. She couldn't see anything, there was too much darkness around her. And then something loomed out of the darkness in front of her, something big, a huge, vast creature.

It was gigantic with scales of the darkest silver and opaque, misty eyes. It was blind, but that didn't stop it finding her. Valkyrie, however, wasn't focusing on its eyes but rather its great open maw. Rows upon rows of sharp, long teeth, about the size of arm and far thicker, were revealed. It was going to eat her. She released the fist of shadows and started to kick furiously as the creature bore down on her, its mouth getting wider and wider. She was going to be eaten and not there was nowhere she could run, not in time, not to avoid that gaping mouth.

And then, like bullet, something collided with her and sent her out of the path of the enormous creature. Something with arms and bony fingers that were digging into her waist as it gripped her and shot her forwards and then up. Skulduggery. He had lost his hat and his shirt was ripped but other than that he appeared to be fine. They shot through the water and up, up towards the surface, towards the light.

Cold air stung her face as the broke the surface and soared above the lake. The deafening silence of the lake had been broken and tumultuous applause filled her ears. Everyone was on their feet as water cascading down back onto the lake from Skulduggery and Valkyrie. She found herself smiling as she shivered, the cold air, though a welcome change from the water, taking her somewhat off guard.

"Thanks," Valkyrie said as they slowly descended to the lake's shore where Valkyrie was sue they would soon be accosted by Madam Pomfrey.

"Not at all," Skulduggery replied as they touched down in front of the judges' table. He released her and looked around. "I think we're first back."

"Yeah, I think we are," Valkyrie grinned. The judges were clapping along with the crowd, all except Karkaroff who was looking as though he had just been force-fed a lemon, clearly he had been hoping for Krum to beat her. Bagman's smile didn't reach his eyes and Valkyrie assumed it was because it had not been Harry who had emerged first, with his bet in place he could not afford for Valkyrie to be in first place when he needed Harry to win. "Does that mean I get full marks?"

"Probably not," Skulduggery answered. "Karkaroff wants you to lose, he'll probably penalize you for something."

"You getting out of your bonds before I got there probably." Valkyrie said as she noticed Madam Pomfrey making a beeline for them, blankets in hand. "How did you manage that, by the way?"

"It was simple enough," Skulduggery told her, his hands in his pockets. "During the war we encountered a group of wizards working for Mevolent on a Dead Men mission. They put me and Ghastly under that exact same spell. We were split up from Ravel and the rest and they got the drop on us. It was hard but I managed to overcome it and free Ghastly and together we escaped. I just did the same thing again today. If they had bound my magic then, yes, you would have had to drag me out of there."

"So the only reason you managed to escape both times is because they didn't bind you properly?"

"Yes, basically, along, of course, with my incredible willpower and determination."

"But if they'd bound you properly then you wouldn't have been able to escape." Valkyrie pointed out. "Wizards are a bit dim really."

Skulduggery chuckled but didn't say anything else as Madam Pomfrey had arrived and without a word had wrapped Valkyrie in a blanket so tightly it felt like she was in a straight-jacket. Despite his protests she did the same to Skulduggery, wrapping him in an orange blanket. She ordered them to sit by the tent that held her medical supplies and promised to return with a potion for Valkyrie. They did as they were told, Valkyrie taking off her blanket as soon as she sat down and instead using her training to get dry.

They sat and talked for the remainder of the task. Valkyrie watched as her fellow champions each surged out of the lake, though she doubted that they looked anywhere near as impressive as she and Skulduggery had. It turned out that Fleur had been attacked by the same creatures that had attacked Valkyrie, Grindylows she was told by Madam Pomfrey, and had been forced to withdraw. She was practically in tears when her sister did not come up with Krum or Diggory and charged into the water when, way outside the time limit of an hour, Harry appeared with both Ron and Gabrielle.

When Harry and the final hostages appeared the judges called a small conference by the water's edge, Dumbledore talking to the merperson that had looked so annoyed with Skulduggery earlier.

"What do you think took him so long?" Valkyrie asked Skulduggery as Ron was being kissed and hugged by a battered, bruised and incredibly grateful Fleur. Hermione looked furious. "He was there just as we were leaving."

"He must have taken the clue seriously." Skulduggery said.

"What do you mean?"

"He must have thought that Gabrielle was in real danger when Fleur did not rescue her and taken it upon himself to save her."

At that point Bagman had started talking again, explaining that they had found out just what had happened at the bottom of the lake thanks to the Mer-chieftainess Murcus. He then proceeded with the scores.

"Miss Fleur Delacour used the Bubble-Head Charm with great success. However, before she could reach her goal she was attacked by Grindylows and failed to retrieve her hostage. We therefore award her thirty points." Bagman announced to a smattering of applause from the crowd.

"Miss Valkyrie Cain used Elemental Magic to reach her goal, and as I have been informed by Mister Bespoke, manipulated the water with excellent results as she and her hostage returned ten minutes within the time limit of an hour. She has therefore been awarded with fifty-five points."

Karkaroff was sitting there looking smug, clearly he was at fault for her dropping marks. She didn't care, she had returned first, she hadn't made a fool of herself and despite his biased scoring she was still first.

"Mister Cedric Diggory also used the Bubble-Head Charm and was second to return with his hostage. However, he was outside the time limit by one minute and therefore scores fifty-four points."

There were cheers from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd and Valkyrie wondered what she would have had to have done for full marks. Diggory had been out of the time limit, unlike her, and yet was only one mark behind. She was glad she was part of a fair competition.

"Mister Viktor Krum used incomplete transfiguration and was third to return with his hostage. We award him fifty points." Bagman announced. "Our last champion, Mister Harry Potter, used Gillyweed with fantastic results. He returned last and well outside the time-limit of an hour. However, Mister Potter was second to reach the hostages, after Miss Cain, and was only delayed by his determination to rescue all the hostages"

There were faint mutterings in the crowd now and the blanket wrapped hostages and champions near Valkyrie were looking at one another confused. It looked like Skulduggery was right, Harry had taken the clue's threat seriously.

"Most of the judges," Bagman continued, glaring at Karkaroff. "Agree that this shows moral fibre and deserves full marks. However, Mister Potter's score is fifty-seven points."

Valkyrie applauded along with the rest of the crowd, smiling at Harry who had a look of sheer shock on his face. Ron too looked surprised but was clapping along with the crowd and Fleur who looked like she might kiss Harry again. Hermione, however, was Valkyrie's favourite reaction as the usually reserved girl was cheering herself hoarse.

They were tied, Valkyrie realised, as Bagman announced the date of the Third Task. June the twenty-fourth. Her and Harry were tied in first place, despite Karkaroff's best efforts Krum was in third, Diggory second and Fleur in last place. The two champions who didn't even want to be in the Tournament were winning. Valkyrie tried not to laugh at the thought, as she joined Harry and his friends on their way up to the castle, congratulating him on his performance. She lost Skulduggery, who had gone to talk to Ghastly, but she would celebrate with him later. Now she was just glad that it was over.

It was all over until June the twenty-fourth when the third and final task would begin.


	14. Incoming Call

Chapter Thirteen: Incoming Call

_The man sat in his office pouring over the detailed report that Skeeter had given him. It was first-class work, he had to admit, fear definitely improved her performance. Before it had been rushed documents and the occasional picture but now, now that he controlled her completely, the quality had soured. Fear was a powerful stimulant. _

_According to the file Cain and Potter were tied first in the tournament. The man felt a smile pull at his lips. It was all going to plan. The Dark Lord's servant would insure that Potter reached the cup first, that was a problem, but the man had learnt never to underestimate Cain. She was a worthy adversary and even without help would likely reach the cup first. However, that didn't mean she wouldn't get help. He needed to be sure. The plan could not fail. Not now. There was too much at stake._

_Years ago the plan had been for Bliss to take control, to rule instead of Guild and to bring the Irish Sanctuary back into the position of power that they deserved. Bliss was the only one who could have done that. Bliss was respected, Bliss was powerful and with him at the helm the other Sanctuaries would have fallen in line. But Bliss had died. It had been unfortunate and unpractical. His death had been incredibly selfish, it had almost ruined everything. But the plan had evolved, changed. Bliss' death had been a minor setback, that was all. _

_It had taken time and rigorous planning to change the plan, now the Sanctuaries all had to fall, but there were some who needed to be dealt with before that could happen. Pleasant and Cain, without them the Irish Sanctuary would fall, without them they would have done several times over the course of the last few years. But soon, soon they would fall._

_The ringing of his phone cut through the air and the man sighed, he glanced down at his phone. He knew the number, it was the person who had given him the insight he needed and at a price he was willing to pay. Of course, he had to change his plan to suit her demands. Originally he had planned to just kill Cain, but that hadn't been practical, that hadn't suited his source's needs. Hogwarts had been the perfect back-up plan, the perfect place to hide her away and the kill her when the time was right._

"_Yes?" he asked, answering his phone, he could not abide pleasantries. They were for people who far too weak minded and cowardly to get straight to the matter at hand. Besides, his time was far too valuable to be taken up with idle conversation and the pretentious masquerade of pretending to care._

"_You said that you would keep me informed," the voice on the other end of the line answered, false emotion clinging to her words as though she was upset that he had not bothered to call. No doubt she intended to make him feel guilty, perhaps persuade him into more regular updates. It was a game he was familiar with and far too experienced at playing to fall for. "It has been over a month."_

"_I have been busy," the man told her. "But there is no need to worry. The plan progressing perfectly, Cain will die on June twenty-fourth and Pleasant will soon follow."_

"_Good." The voice said, her voice turning cold. "After all, I have held up my end of the bargain, now you must hold up yours. I take it that you have a plan if she escapes?"_

"_It is not likely that she will. But yes, I do. I rarely underestimate my opponents."_

"_And what about your allies?" the voice asked. "Are you sure that Skeeter can be relied upon? Malfoy could have cost us everything. We do not need another of his kind failing you again."_

"_She can," the man assured her. "The connection to Malfoy was something I had not foreseen. But the unforeseen often takes place when dealing with the Skeleton Detective. However, I have taken the necessary precautions this time."_

"_Do they still believe that Voldemort was behind the attack?"_

"_They do," the man confirmed. "Skeeter tells me that they are still insistent on finding the link there. Do not worry, you will not be discovered."_

"_I hope you are correct because if I am I will not be the only one suffering their retribution."_

_Before he could speak again the line went dead, asserting her power over him, making sure that she was the one in control. At least, that was what she thought and the man was in no hurry to correct her. An obedient servant is fair less likely to betray their master than an out-spoken one. She had no real power of him, nothing to threaten him with, despite her illusions. They had never met, they had only ever spoken over the phone and, while she knew where his office was, there were a hundred others in Dublin he could move to when they time came. Illusions of grandeur were harmless in the hands of the powerless. It was only when power was added to that lethal cocktail of ambition and delusion._

_Not that that mattered. As soon as she served her purpose he would discard her but she could still be useful, it was the only reason he allowed her such freedom. After all, Pleasant and Cain were at a severe disadvantage, they did not know who all the players were in their little game and they certainly did not know about her. It would remain that way. _

_At least until she lost her usefulness._

* * *

**AN: Sorry for such a short chapter but this is a part of the plot that I meant to include earlier but did not. Normal sized chapters will be up again soon. **


	15. Unkown

Chapter Fourteen: Unknown

The aftermath of the Second Task bought a new wave of interest in the champions and, to Valkyrie's surprise, their hostages. In the week that followed Ron was telling a huge array of adoring fans, mainly girls in his year, how he had fought off merpeople, all heavily armed and battle-trained. It was utter nonsense, of course, but Ron loved the spotlight having been over-shadowed by everyone else in his lift, according to the twins.

While Valkyrie didn't quite understand his need to dramatise his experience, she did find it quite entertaining. The story would change so rapidly and so widely it was almost a challenge to find the seeds of truth. That, and the fact that she knew the truth, made Ron's outlandish tales quite funny in their own way. That was until Hermione, once again, ruined her fun and embarrassed Ron. Then he started telling the truth, which was far less entertaining.

Now that the task was over there was another, though this time expected, change. Hermione. Her cold demeanour returned now that she wasn't distracted by the library and Harry's chances of winning the task. Valkyrie often wondered how Hermione had enough energy and time to put into disliking Valkyrie with such an, in her view, unwarranted passion. It did little to improve Valkyrie's opinion of the girl. As far as she was concerned she had done nothing wrong, apart from be herself. Clearly Hermione wasn't used to having someone stand up to her.

Valkyrie would not have minded, would have just brushed it off, if it wasn't affecting Harry and Ron who were somewhat stuck in the middle of it all. Harry insisted that, despite Hermione's views to the contrary, that he still wanted to have Valkyrie as his friend. Valkyrie wasn't about to make him choose between her and Hermione. That was stupid. Besides, it was clear who would win, Hermione wouldn't be leaving at the end of the year and had been his friend for far longer. But the whole idea was stupid. He shouldn't have to choose but Hermione's cold demeanour was beginning to grate on him. Ron, less so, though Valkyrie was under the impression that his mother was almost as dominating as Hermione, he was probably used to it.

However, the icy silence was broken on the Friday night, the evening before the Hogwarts weekend. Valkyrie had just left Harry, Ron and Hermione when the latter stopped and turned a confused look on her face, still within earshot of Valkyrie who was heading towards her room.

"I'll catch you up," she told Harry and Ron, who, frowning, nodded and continued to walk up the marble staircase towards the Gryffindor Common Room. There was the sound of hurrying footsteps and then Hermione was by Valkyrie's side again, a conflicted and yet determined look on her face. Valkyrie stopped and arched an eyebrow at Hermione, waiting for the words, maybe even a shouting match. When none came she spoke.

"Can I help you?" she asked, uncertainly after a long moment of awkward silence.

"We need to talk."

"About?"

"You."

"What about me?" Valkyrie asked sceptically. What could Hermione possibly want to know? She had made it pretty clear that she didn't like Valkyrie and as far as Valkyrie was concerned the feeling was definitely mutual. But the serious look on Hermione's face kept Valkyrie rooted to the spot. There was something about it. Something she couldn't quite describe, like Hermione was beyond determined, she wasn't going to take no for answer, even though Valkyrie didn't know the question yet.

"You're dangerous," Hermione told her, cutting across Valkyrie as she opened her mouth to argue. "No, you are. Skeeter lied about a lot of things but she was right about that. Those two who tried to kill you at Christmas aren't the first, are they? I know they weren't. You didn't even react. Harry was up all night to make sure you were okay. But you, you just sat there and acted like it was normal. And they won't be the last, will they?"

Silence greeted Hermione's words. As much as Valkyrie wanted to counter them, there was no denying what Hermione said. There had been more than one attempt on Valkyrie's life and she was sure that it wasn't going to change any time soon. Life with Skulduggery was full of danger but she had known that all those years ago. She had known what she was getting in to.

"They got through before, they could get through the defences, but this time we might not all be so lucky." Hermione continued, her voice growing stronger as Valkyrie remained silent. "Those people who are after you, what if they stop trying to kill you? What if they give up? Instead, they'll go after your friends. Harry's been through enough, he's been through more than anyone should have to go through and he's in enough danger as it is."

"So that's why you hate me." Valkyrie said, her mind spinning, all the assumptions she had made about Hermione flying out of the window. Hermione didn't care about Valkyrie's behaviour or her defiance to bow down to her intelligence, Hermione was scared for her friend. That's what it all been about, the silence, the cold stares, everything. It had been about Harry all along. Hermione wasn't stupid, she must have known that trouble would follow when Valkyrie's name came out of that damned goblet. "Harry."

"I don't," Hermione stammered, suddenly losing all that confidence. "I don't hate you. It's just, Harry's in enough danger without you. I don't want anything to happen to him."

"You're not the only one," Valkyrie muttered. "Look, right now, this place, it's the safest place I can be. Sorcerers don't know about it. Yeah, Tanith and Sanguine found out. And, you're right, there are probably more people who want to kill me. Hell, I wouldn't be doing my job right if they didn't want me dead. Bad guys have a thing for revenge. But none of them are going to look here."

"But what if they do?"

"Then they're going to wish they didn't." Valkyrie said. She was being honest, she had to be, Hermione wouldn't settle for anything less. After years of training, Valkyrie knew how to handle herself, even without Skulduggery by her side. After all, he wouldn't always be there to catch her. It felt like a lifetime since he had told her that. But it was true. "Besides, Harry can handle himself."

"So can you, and look what they did to you." Hermione snapped. It took all of Valkyrie's willpower not to snap back, the bitter memories of Tanith's attack flickering in her mind's eye, that pain blossoming in her memory. She wanted to shout, to tell Hermione she didn't have a clue what she was talking about. But she didn't, Hermione did know, she knew Harry and Valkyrie had shown everyone in the school what she could do at the First Task. But that didn't stop the anger, the anger that rose inside her at being reminded just how she had beaten and had been almost killed someone she had called a friend.

"You know as well as I do that Harry won't stop talking to me just because he might get hurt."

"I know." Hermione sighed, running a hand through her untamed hair. "He'd do anything for his friends. That's what I want to talk to you about, really."

"What do you mean?"

"If Harry thought you were in danger, he would do almost anything to help. He has a thing for saving people. I need you to promise me you won't let him."

"I'm sorry?"

"Just make sure he stays safe," Hermione said, her face adopting a serious demeanour that Valkyrie had never seen before. "He was my first friend, I don't want to see anything happen to him. Please."

Valkyrie felt herself nodding, too startled by the sudden change in tact to do anything else. Hermione was clearly afraid for her friend, Valkyrie could understand that. The doubts that she had raised were also understandable, they were wrong, there was no way anyone was going to get to her, but she understood why Hermione was afraid. She knew that Skulduggery would probably do the same with her. He had, with Wreath, he had warned her against him, but in the end it had been her decision to make. Hermione was doing the same thing, she knew Harry had made his choice, she was just looking out for him.

Hermione smiled, a sad little smile, though one that was tinged with relief. "Thank you." She said, opening to say something more before closing it again, a little awkwardly, as though not sure where to go from there. Valkyrie wasn't going to help her, after all, she had been the one to make things awkward. There was a small nod, another half-smile, and then Hermione turned and walked away leaving a slightly stunned Valkyrie behind.

She stared after the girl, not quite sure what to think. After all that time, all that animosity, it had all been for Harry. It was definitely something she hadn't expected. It didn't wash away all the things Hermione had said and done, but explained a few of them. Not all, but a few. Valkyrie wondered idly as the Gryffindor walked up the stairs, how different things would have been between them without Hermione's fears for Harry. Probably not that different, there would still definitely have been a clash, but whether or not Hermione would have clung to it for so long was something Valkyrie couldn't answer.

Her musings were interrupted by the slow, dull buzz of her phone in her pocket. Frowning she dug it out and glanced at the screen. The number was blocked, probably just a machine somewhere texting her about insulation, she had gotten a lot of those lately. Part of her had wanted to tell Dumbledore, finally do something about the cold castle.

She opened, ready to delete, but froze as soon as her eyes fixed on the message.

_You've been betrayed. We need to meet. Come to the Three Broomsticks and one o'clock tomorrow. Alone. _

So much for insulation.

That night Valkyrie got almost no sleep. The ominous text message plagued her mind, allowing her no peace. Who the hell could it be from? More importantly what did they mean she had been betrayed? Who by? Questions, each more daunting than the last, echoed around her mind. She wanted to tell Skulduggery, to let him know what was going on, but if she did she knew that he would want to come. If that happened then she wouldn't find out what the hell was going on. But she could hardly go in alone. She needed some kind of back-up, someone who could help if, as usual, something went wrong. It could be anyone, Death Eaters, Sanguine, newly escaped from America before word reached Skulduggery. Anyone, it could be anyone.

A trickle of fear passed through Valkyrie as she lay in bed, looking up at the empty, dark ceiling. With everything that Skulduggery had been saying about their enemy, whoever had been organising this, they certainly would have the tenacity for a plan like this. Draw Valkyrie with the bait of information and then spring the trap. She felt trapped by the unknown, she hated that feeling. But what choice did she have?

But by the exact same token that fuelled her fears it could be someone with information, ready to help, who might prove to be just what they needed to catch who was behind this. If she didn't go she risked losing out on priceless information but if she did she risked being trapped by the enemy. Either way, she was going to be completely blind. If she did go for it, she would need back-up. She couldn't go in alone.

Her thoughts were interrupted by gentle, almost hesitant knocking on her door. She glanced at her phone, which lay on her bedside table, it was morning, breakfast was almost over. She sighed, pushing down her indecision and her fears and she got up and threw on her coat, making sure that she was completely covered, before traipsing to the door with a scowl on her face.

"You look terrible," announced a stunned Ron, who was standing behind Harry a look of shock on his face.

"Cheers." Valkyrie glowered.

"Are you coming to Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, sending his friend a look which seemingly both perplexed and annoyed Ron, better at hiding his shock. "Only we thought you might like to come with us, if you are, I mean."

Valkyrie stood there for a moment, realising what her answer to such a simple question would mean. She had planned to go to the village, having a well-deserved break from training and going through files that Ghastly was sending over for on-going cases. But the previous night's text had thrown her plans in to total disarray. She could stay in the castle, avoid the village completely and not go to the meeting or she could go and find who the bloody hell had her number. That part had annoyed her more than she had thought it would, it had been an invasion of her privacy, she felt somewhat violated, the thought that anyone could get her number gnawing away at her, but she had more pressing concerns. To go or not? To miss the meeting or risk a trap?

She looked at Harry and a now slightly abashed Ron, the argument that she had had with Hermione echoing in her mind and the promise that she had made. No dragging him into trouble. But if she went without back-up then she would facing the unknown completely and totally alone. She needed someone and she couldn't take Skulduggery. She wouldn't be dragging him into anything, not if she didn't bring him in with her, he could just wait for her and if she didn't come back out again phone Skulduggery, she would stress that part.

She had to go, deep down she knew it, she had find out. If she didn't it would haunt her, she knew it would, especially if something went wrong later that might have been prevented if she had gone to the meeting. She had to go.

"Yeah," she said eventually. "I'll be out in a minute."

Ten minutes later she, Ron and Harry were walking to Hogsmeade, absent Hermione. Apparently she was on a date with Krum, much to Ron's annoyance. At the Yule Ball they had kind of bonded, something Harry and Ron had only found out a day or two later as Ron had returned to Gryffindor Tower late that night and Harry had waited outside the Hospital Wing while Valkyrie had been operated on.

The morning passed pretty quickly for Valkyrie. She had only ever seen Hogsmeade in the dark when she had arrived and had never seen it so full of people. It was like Roarhaven, but happier and a lot more welcoming. Magic was flaunted, Valkyrie was even sure she saw a hag outside one of the shops. She wondered how many other small towns were wizarding like this one, it was definitely an improvement on what she was used to.

She was shown around by a very excitable and over-zealous Ron who spent almost half an hour in the sweet shop: Honeydukes. She was then escorted around Zonko's and shown the Shrieking Shack. Harry and Ron explained how the legend that the house was haunted was actually false, that it had been their old professor, Professor Lupin, transformed as a werewolf that the residents heard there, not a ghost. That didn't stop the place being creepy, standing alone, broken and yet formidable. The silence that had fallen upon them as they stared at the house, Harry and Ron looking as though they were remembering something both tragic and important, was interrupted by the beeping of Valkyrie's phone. Ten minutes until her meeting.

"Do you guys know where the Three Broomsticks is?" Valkyrie asked turning off the alarm on her phone with the click of a button.

"It's this way," Harry told her, leading them up the winding path back to Hogsmeade. Valkyrie had the uneasy feeling that she was being watched all the way back up the path, though there was nobody around, only a large black that followed them up the path, occasionally stopping to sniff at bins or pick up a newspaper in its jaws. On more than one occasion Valkyrie was sure that the dog's grey eyes were watching her. She shook herself, she was being paranoid. Why would a dog be watching her?

The Three Broomsticks was packed, despite the mild weather outside. Tables were full, both students and adults alike, Valkyrie was sure that she saw the bushy mane of Hermione in the far corner with a very familiar, uncharacteristically happy looking Bulgarian.

"I'll go and find a table." Ron said brusquely, his eyes fixed on Hermione. Before Harry could stop him Ron had disappeared into the crowd of people, whether he was looking for a table wasn't clear, though Valkyrie suspected he was going to go and interrogate Hermione on her choice of escort.

"He still hasn't told her?" Valkyrie asked as she and Harry fought their way to the bar. "I thought you said he was going to."

"He was," Harry replied, quickly side-stepping a tall, hard faced man with only one working eye, the other was milky white with a hint of blue under the opaque surface. "But after the last task that sort of changed."

"He wasn't thrilled with the idea that she was what Krum would most sorely miss." Valkyrie said, it was more of a statement than a question. She knew what Ron was like, after all.

"No," Harry said with a sigh as they reached the bar. Madam Rosmerta grinned at Harry and hurried over, quickly finishing serving the customer that she had been talking to.

"Congratulations on the last task, Mister Potter." Rosmerta beamed. "I always knew you would do well, just like your father, he was a talented young man as well."

"Thanks," Harry muttered, blushing a little as he dug about in his robe pocket for some money. "Three butterbeers, please."

"Not for me," Valkyrie told Harry as she dug out her phone again, two minutes.

"Don't worry about that, dear." Rosmerta said quickly, waving away the money that offered her as she opened the bottles. "On the house and I won't take no for an answer. You deserve it."

Harry was now almost completely red, trying his best to persuade her to let him pay for his drinks but Rosmerta was having none of it. Clearly she was rooting for a Hogwarts victory or maybe it was just because it was Harry and the memories that Rosmerta had of his father, Valkyrie wasn't sure. Either way, she flat-out refused to let him pay, threatening to put the money in the till herself if he kept arguing.

"Miss Cain," Rosmerta said as they were about to turn and leave, Valkyrie intent on finding whoever it was she was supposed to be meeting in the crowd, she had been glancing around the bar while Harry and Rosmerta had been speaking but had seen no-one. There was nobody there that she recognised, from either world, wizard or sorcerer. Part of her was hoping for another text to tell her what to do, she hated not knowing. "I almost forgot, someone's asking to meet you upstairs, they said you would know but to send you up if I saw you."

"Thanks," Valkyrie said, forcing a smile. So that was how it was going to be played. Out of the way but in a public enough place so that whoever was meeting her could escape into the crowd if they needed to. The crowd would also draw away any unwanted attention. It wasn't strange being in the pub, alone with friends, meeting people. It was the perfect distraction. That feeling of being out-manoeuvred rose up inside Valkyrie again, along with her anger and frustration. She hated being toyed with. She hated being kept in the dark, it reminded her of being a child in school patronised by teachers who thought they wielded undeserved respect. "Where do I have to go?"

"Up those stairs, first of your left, dear."

"Thank you," Valkyrie attempted another smile, though doubted it was where near successful, before turning to Harry who was waiting for her a slightly confused look on his face. She sighed, she didn't want to break her promise, not because she had promised Hermione, but because she didn't want to drag Harry into this. He was one of the few friends she had left, Fletcher was gone, so was Tanith, there was a chance something could go wrong and she had gotten used to having a friend again that wasn't Skulduggery. But all she planned on doing was giving him her phone. That would be it. If something went wrong he would call Skulduggery, it was simple. But if he knew what was really going on she doubted he would just sit there and wait for Skulduggery. Like Hermione said, he had a saving people thing.

"You okay, Val?"

"Yeah, fine," Valkyrie answered. "Listen, I've just got upstairs for a minute, it's nothing important, don't worry about it, just someone I need to talk to about a case back in Ireland. But Skulduggery's expecting me to call him in a few minutes, so, if I don't come back down in five minutes could you me a favour? Call him and tell him that Ghastly's made up his mind and he's going to be brave Tanith's operation, could you do that?"

It was a lie, but Skulduggery would know what it meant, she had said the code-word. Even if Harry got it slightly wrong the fact that she was telling him about Tanith's operation would set off the alarm bells. Skulduggery would come and Harry wouldn't even realise there was anything wrong. Simple.

"Sure," Harry said as Valkyrie passed him her phone. He gave her a smile before he turned and fought his way through the crowd towards where Ron was sitting, one table away from Hermione and Krum, shooting the pair daggers. His subtlety was masterful, it really was.

Valkyrie battled her way through the sea of people to the stairs, elbowing one stubborn man who wouldn't move in the ribs, and made her way up to the room that Rosmerta had told her the meeting was going to take place. The closer she came to the door the more her nerves mounted. This could go wrong, she knew it could, even with her safety plan in place, there was still the chance that it could g horribly wrong. But she couldn't risk losing possibly vital information, not when everything about her place in the Tournament was surrounded in shadows, they needed something, anything. She didn't like being a pawn in someone else's game. She couldn't turn away now.

Taking a deep breath she stood outside the door, getting her mind clear, readying herself for whatever was going to be on the other side. Slowly, her eyes starting in one corner of the room, she opened the door, feeling the ring cold against her finger, ready to fight if she needed to, ready for anything on the other side of that door. Friend or foe, it didn't make a difference, if she needed to she would attack first, use the element of surprise, just like Tanith had taught her.

However, she wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her when the door swung open and revealed who was waiting inside. There was a beautiful smile and a delicate arch of delicate eyebrows.

"Hello, my dear," said a flawless and perfect voice. "It's good to see you again."

Valkyrie stared and China Sorrows looked back a smile on her face.


	16. Betrayal

Chapter Fifteen: Betrayal

Valkyrie stared, she couldn't help it. Standing in front of her was the woman who had been responsible for the deaths of Skulduggery's wife and child, the woman that she had once called a friend. China couldn't be here. Not at Hogwarts. Not somewhere no sorcerer was supposed to be able to find. Valkyrie wasn't sure what she had been expecting, a trap maybe, someone she didn't know with secret information, anything but this. Anything but China.

And then, a second later though it felt longer, instinct took over. It fought through the shock that was rippling through Valkyrie's brain, and she found herself swinging, she wasn't even aware of it until China staggered back, clutching her face. It felt good, hitting China, all that anger, the hole inside her that China had left having overflowed with pain, was somehow being let out. She wanted to do it again, China deserved it, after everything that she had done, she deserved it. But the part of that wasn't consumed with anger and rage was slowly regaining control as she looked at China, ready to lash out again. Whatever China had called her for it had to be important, she wouldn't facing Valkyrie again if it wasn't, she needed to hear her out, then she could go back to hitting.

China stepped back, looking warily at Valkyrie, as though she expected to be punched again. Valkyrie looked back, feeling the pain in her fist, though it felt far off as she stared at China. The woman took out a handkerchief of the purest white and dabbed it on her bloody lip, her beautiful, perfect face marred.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Valkyrie demanded, her voice shaking slightly.

"Straight to business then?" China asked, arching her eyebrow. "A pity, though, I can understand your desire to be direct. I apologise for not letting you know that it was me that you would be meeting today. I feared if I did you would not come. It is very important that you listen to what I have to say, my dear. I wasn't lying in that message I sent you, you have been betrayed."

"What do you mean?"

"It is not a coincidence that you have been dragged into a tournament that confines you to this delightful part of Scotland just as we are on the brink of war. I once told you that war takes timing and precision. War is an art form, there is someone holding the brush, deliberating every stroke with a lethal precision. This is a masterpiece that has been waiting to take form for such a long time. Timing is key. They needed you out of the country, preoccupied with this lovely little tournament, look for enemies where there are none so as when they strike you will not see it coming. For war to happen there needs to be no-one standing in the way, you and Skulduggery are the last obstacles that need to be overcome."

"So this is all a set-up?" Valkyrie asked, her anger ebbing away as China's words washed over her. "But what does Voldemort have to do with all this? He's the one that set Tanith and Sanguine up to take me."

"He is but a pawn who believes himself a king," China said sadly. "He works for a prize and provides the necessary distraction. Someone else is pulling his strings."

"Who?" Valkyrie asked. She did not have to ask what his prize was and she did not want to let China know if she didn't already. She had good reason not to trust China.

"I don't know," China admitted after a moment as though it was hard for her to say the words. She wasn't the only one struggling with the concept. Valkyrie had never known China to be completely at a loss, usually she had an idea, something that would help lead them to the bad guys. She was an information broker, it was business to know. "Almost all of those who have ever laid eyes upon him are dead. Davina Marr, for example."

"Marr?" Valkyrie asked, a little stunned by China's words.

"Do you really think that she could come up with such an ingenious plan herself?" China asked, not bothering to hide the contempt in her voice. "She was flawed and without imagination, which probably explains why she made such a woeful detective. No, Valkyrie, it was not her plan. The Sanctuary needed to be moved so as it could be controlled, so it was blown up and, of course, you and Skulduggery were meant to be killed as a by-product. That was the plan."

"I never did have much time for plans."

"And I for one am glad that you don't." China said with a smile. "However, as I say, almost all who have seen have died. But not all, there are a few. Naturally they won't talk to me. The only reason they are yet living is because they are his co-conspirators, the ones that plot and scheme alongside him. Most stand as elusive as him, hiding in the shadows. But there is one that I know of, the one who betrayed you, my dear."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Valkyrie asked, her anger clearing way to doubt. The first thing that Skulduggery had ever told her about China was that she couldn't, no matter what, be trusted. It was a warning she hadn't paid heed to before but now... For all Valkyrie knew China could be the enemy. She had been in the perfect position to engineer the plot but avoid suspicion. "How do I know this isn't all part of some set-up?"

"I have no reason to lie," China answered simply. "The risk of coming here far out ways the benefits, you could have killed me and Skulduggery most certainly would. If you believe that this is all part of some insidious plot, then I am afraid I am going to have to disappoint you. If it were, I would certainly not be here alone."

"You're here alone?"

"I am," China said with a smile. "Mainly as I knew you would suspect foul play if I came with anyone. Skulduggery has taught you well."

"Yeah," Valkyrie muttered her mind racing at China's words. "He has."

China had a point. If this was a set up she wouldn't risk coming alone, she would have bought someone along, though, just because they weren't in sight didn't mean that they weren't there. But Valkyrie hadn't seen anyone on the way up and she had been keeping an eye out, suspecting a trap, but she still could have missed them. But even if China had bought someone there was still the huge risk that she was taking coming here, so close to Skulduggery and then revealing herself to Valkyrie. She had more to lose than she stood to gain.

"Okay," Valkyrie said after a moment of silence, China taking a seat on what looked to be an uncomfortable chair next to a slightly chipped wooden table. Now that Valkyrie wasn't staring at China, as she had been when she had entered the room, she noticed the black teapot that sat on the table, complete with matching tea cups and a sugar bowl. China had already poured herself a cup and had lifted it from the table, sipping the hot liquid as she looked at Valkyrie. "Say I believe you, how did you find out about this? Skulduggery has been looking for months."

"As have I, my dear." China replied with a gentle smile. "The only difference is that, as talented as Skulduggery is, he is limited by Sanctuary restrictions as this qualifies as a Sanctuary investigation. As such, they have been able to keep him under control, monitor his progress and act accordingly. I, however, have no such limitations. Would you like some tea?"

"No, I'm grand," Valkyrie said, but China poured a cup despite Valkyrie words and began adding sugar. She gestured to the empty seat and Valkyrie sat, trying not to let her frustration get the better of her as China stirred the tea before passing it over to Valkyrie. She didn't say anything but went back to drinking from her own cup, as if waiting for Valkyrie to start drinking before she would continue the conversation. Sighing Valkyrie reached for the cup.

"So, you're saying that they're in the Sanctuary?" Valkyrie asked, sipping at her piping hot tea.

"They are." China nodded. "It is no coincidence that Roarhaven is host to the Sanctuary. The Roarhaven mages crave supremacy over mortals, do they not? They tried and failed to get control through violence, in what I must say was a shambolic attempt. After that, my knowledge is limited, but from what I can gather they turned to a group of like-minded individuals for help. After that, Marr ensured that the Sanctuary moved to Roarhaven. Now Roarhaven mages are in positions of power that they would not have obtained had the Sanctuary remained in Dublin. However, that is not enough, it can't be. They want complete power and to gain that they need to remove their enemies, which is where you come in, and Skulduggery, of course."

"Let me guess, they're going to leave us alone and let us get on with our lives?" Valkyrie asked, sarcasm in her voice, as she put down her cup of tea.

"Surprisingly, no, they are not. Why else do you think you are here?" China asked. "There is no need for you to stay in the castle, you could leave any time that you wished. Or rather, you could have. The woman that betrayed you made sure that you stay here, isolated."

"What are you talking about?"

"You never saw the contract, did you?" China asked, setting down her cup. "Its content was merely relayed to you. In fact, only one member of the Sanctuary has read it. The copy was then destroyed and a letter put in its place, the letter that everyone believes came from Dumbledore, but did it not. It took me almost two months to come by this information and cost me a great deal, so I hope you understand what I am losing by giving it to you for free."

Valkyrie wanted to bite back with a witty retort, something that would wipe that smile off China's lips, something that would make her realise just how important this all was. But before she had chance a blue symbol, that Valkyrie hadn't noticed before, started to glow on the table. Valkyrie vaguely recognised it as some sort of warning symbol.

China's eyes went wide, the smile faded and was replaced with a look of sheer terror. It was a look that Valkyrie had never seen on that beautiful face before, her cold exterior had fallen and for the first time Valkyrie thought she was seeing a glimpse at the real China. She hurried to her feet, knocking over the teapot in her rush. Valkyrie too leapt to her feet, fire in her hands, whirling to face the door that China was staring at.

"I told you to come alone!" China shouted, reaching for a faintly glowing symbol on the table.

Valkyrie spun ready to retort, ready to tell China that she had come alone, that she had kept up her end of the bargain. But before she could even speak, before she could make a sound, the door was blasted off its hinges. There was a loud crash as the heavy oak door slammed to the ground. China froze, staring at whoever was standing in the doorway, her eyes impossibly wide and her jaw clenched.

Valkyrie whirled, flames in her hands, ready to fight, just in time to see Skulduggery pull the trigger. The air exploded and China staggered back, falling against the wall and sliding to the floor, her hand at her chest. Blood trickled through her fingers as a gasp escaped her lips, her mouth staying open, her face frozen in shock. The colour was already draining from her face as she looked up at Skulduggery, her blue eyes wide, the light in their depths seeming to flicker.

Valkyrie didn't move as Skulduggery holstered his gun, never turning to her, keeping his focus on China's crumpled form. Her breathing was shallow, her white dress was stained with blood, her fingers were lathered in blood, so much blood. Valkyrie felt herself running forwards, falling to China's side, she couldn't die, Valkyrie still needed her. She wanted to shout at Skulduggery, but didn't because she had almost done the same when her mother had been attacked, but Skulduggery had lost his family, she couldn't imagine what she would do if that happened to her.

China reached for her. Valkyrie could feel the warm blood on her skin, feel it on her face, smearing against her cheek. She couldn't be dying. There was the sound of running footsteps and Valkyrie turned to see Harry, wand in hand, standing behind Skulduggery, looking for the source of the commotion.

"Val!" he shouted, rushing past Skulduggery, who was standing completely still in the doorway, looking down at China. "Are you okay? Is that blood?"

"Yes, look, go get help, we need to get her back to the castle, she's losing a lot of blood." Valkyrie told him, not looking away from China's pale face. The hand on her face had fallen to her shoulder, going limp, she wasn't going to last long, she was fading away in Valkyrie's arms.

Harry hurried away, she could hear him down in the bar, shouting for help, looking for someone, one of the teachers maybe, anyone who could help China get back to the castle. Valkyrie just hoped Pomfrey knew how to deal with gunshots, it wasn't a common wizarding problem, especially in a school. Skulduggery didn't say anything, he didn't have to. He just stood there, like a statue, staring down at China.

Valkyrie did the same, looking at the woman who had betrayed them, who had led her friend's family to the slaughter, the woman she had once called a friend dying in her arms. Despite everything that had happened, the void between them, Valkyrie didn't want China to die, she had been her friend, had risked arrest for her and saved her life. A flicker of pain shot across Valkyrie's mind as she looked down China. She didn't want her to die. With or without that information, she didn't want China to die.

The seconds trailed by and all the while Valkyrie's eyes never left China's fading ones, she never let go, not until the sound of footsteps returned and the Groundskeeper Hagrid came into the room, followed by a pale Harry. There was a soft whisper, probably a curse. Valkyrie wasn't sure, she wasn't listening. Moments later Hagrid was beside her, his huge hands on China, taking her from Valkyrie, gently placing her over his shoulder with an effortless ease.

Valkyrie went to follow him and Harry out of the door, intent on making sure that China got to the Hospital Wing and into the caring and capable hands of Madam Pomfrey, but Skulduggery moved into her path, his head tilting as he looked at her.

"She killed my family, Valkyrie." He said quietly, the need to justify what he had done to her clear in his voice. If it had been anyone else, anyone but her, she knew that he would have said nothing and would have left in a stony silence. But she wasn't anyone. They were partners, which was just why he didn't need to. She knew him better than anyone, nobody knew about Vile, what he had become. She knew that that anger was there and why. She understood, understood completely and knew if their positions were changed that she would likely have done the same, but that didn't mean she liked it.

"No, Skulduggery, she didn't. Serpine did. Yeah, she gave them to him, but she didn't kill them." Valkyrie said, keeping her voice as soft as his so as not to be overheard. "Besides, she was here for a reason."

"Information?"

"Yeah," Valkyrie nodded. "On whoever thought it'd be fun to send me here."

"Well," Skulduggery said, taking off his hat and brushing imaginary lint from the brim as he always did when he was stressed. "Let's hope I didn't shoot her too badly."

As it turned out her wound was not fatal, partly due to the active symbols etched on her body that dealt with pain and wounds, but also as it had missed her heart by about an inch. Skulduggery's rage had, in part, been her saving grace. If he had been his usual calm, collected self then the bullet would have found its mark, but then, if he had been calm and in possession of all the facts, he wouldn't have shot her in the first place.

Madam Pomfrey was beside herself by the time Skulduggery and Valkyrie arrived at the Hospital Wing. She refused to let anyone enter, even Dumbledore who was waiting outside the Hospital Wing, pacing the corridor. However, when Harry and Hagrid emerged from a bathroom, Harry holding his bloodstained jumper, Dumbledore quickly walked away, asking that Harry and Hagrid accompany him to his office to give him their version of events. Wisely, Dumbledore had not asked for Skulduggery's tale, nor Valkyrie's who was sitting by the door the Hospital Wing, waiting to be allowed to enter.

They waited in silence, Skulduggery leaning against the wall opposite, his hat pulled low over his eyes and ignoring everyone around him. It wasn't a good sign. She could almost feel his anger burning up inside him, threatening to overwhelm him. She didn't envy the person who next got the attention of his anger, it would not be a pretty sight.

As the seconds turned into minutes and the time dragged out in front of them, Valkyrie began to replay the events of that day over in her mind. China's words, Skulduggery's arrival and ultimately, China's shooting. She was kicking herself for not going and getting her phone off Harry as soon as she knew she was safe, if she had then Skulduggery would never have seen or shot China. But that wasn't what was disturbing her most. What was disturbing her was the fact that she understood completely where Skulduggery was coming from. Maybe that was what set off Darquesse, a day like his, meeting her family's killer. Not her folks, perhaps, she had seen their deaths, but she hadn't seen Alice. If anyone touched her sister, innocent, sweet, little Alice, she didn't know what she would do, whether or not she would be able to stop herself. Maybe that was the bad day Darquesse needed. Maybe it was that one last push over the edge, which tipped her, once and for all, into Darquesse's bloody and violent embrace.

Her dark thoughts were interrupted as Madam Pomfrey, hours later, opened the doors to the Hospital Wing, a tired look on her old face.

"You may see her now, detectives. However, I must warn you that you if you cause my patient any unnecessary duress you will be leaving, do I make myself clear?"

They nodded and Valkyrie led the way into the Hospital Wing, Skulduggery walking slowly behind her, as though he was still debating whether or not to be there, if he could face her again.

"She was lucky you got her to me so fast," Madam Pomfrey said as she led them to the only occupied, and curtained off, bed in the room. "Another few minutes and I dread to think what the consequences might have been. Though I do not know why she was in such a state. It gets worse every year. First dragons and now gunshot wounds, I have never seen the like, never! And in a school of all places."

Valkyrie said nothing and allowed the matron to continue her tirade until she drew back the curtains and they reached China's bedside. The woman on the bed was almost bone white, the colour drained almost completely from her face. Some of the symbols on her skin were pulsing, deep red lines along her arms, crisscrossing across her pale skin. Valkyrie had never seen them so raised. But, then again, she had never seen China in such a state before. Vulnerability did not suit her.

"You have five minutes, after that I must insist that you allow her rest." Madam Pomfrey informed them. Valkyrie nodded, while Skulduggery followed the matron as she bustled off, probably intent on asking her questions on China's progress. Valkyrie knew that he was having trouble discerning his feelings for China, it was the same problem Valkyrie was having, they had once been friends after all.

"Hey China," Valkyrie said after a moment, taking the empty seat by China's bed. The woman smiled gently up at her, Valkyrie doubted she could do much more, she had been under the effects of the matron's more effective potions before. They had left her so groggy she had almost been unable to move. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I have been shot," China answered, a touch of good humour in her voice. "Though, that is to be expected. I will be fine, don't worry about me, my dear."

"We weren't planning on it," Skulduggery spoke from behind Valkyrie, interrupting the conversation as he joined them, shutting the curtains behind him with a wave of his hand.

"Hello Skulduggery," China said. "It has been a long time. Though, I am sure that you understand my apprehension to get in contact. Your reaction was what I expected and probably deserved. We all did things in the time of war that we were not proud of."

"Some of us more easily than others."

"Quite," China replied, her voice hard, her face losing that faint smile. "However, I doubt that you have come to share war stories."

"No, I haven't." Skulduggery answered taking off his hat and throwing it onto the end of the bed. "If I had I would be holding a gun. As it is we have more pressing concerns. When this is all over we are going to have a conversation. But right now I need you tell me what you came to tell Valkyrie."

"I am sure that you have figured out already why Valkyrie is here," China began. "It is somewhat similar to mortal magic. The illusion is only as good as the distraction, this Tournament that you, Valkyrie, are a part of is the distraction, while the bigger game is played elsewhere and the rest of the pieces are moved into place behind the scenes. But for that to work whoever is organising all this has needed help from someone inside the Sanctuary. You have suspected her for a long time, have you not Skulduggery?"

"Mist." Skulduggery said, his voice hollow.

"I also have the proof that you were unfortunately lacking," China continued, gesturing at the purse that sat on her bedside table. It could only be hers, flawless and beautifully crafted, it matched the exact colour of her dress and had crystals that were almost identical, almost as if they were a pair. There was a bloody story attached, there usually was, but they were stunning nonetheless.

"What proof?" Valkyrie asked, unclasping the purse and pulling out, not money, but a small flash drive, about the length of her index finger, midnight blue. It didn't look like the sort of thing that could bring someone down so completely as China had suggested earlier that day.

"Recordings and videos of her meeting with Roarhaven mages to discuss this Tournament, months before the Sanctuary was made aware. There is also a copy of the contract which forces Valkyrie to compete. You'll find that nowhere does it say that she has to remain on school grounds, in fact, she only has to appear for events linked to the Tournament itself. Mist knew that. She wants you out the way and so wrapped up in all this that you won't see what is going on behind the scenes before it is too late."

"Right," Skulduggery said, retrieving his hat and throwing open the curtains. "I want a word with Mist."

"Thanks for this China," Valkyrie smiled quickly, slipping the drive back into the purse and putting it into her coat packet. She probably should have been shocked, maybe. But she had never trusted or even liked Mist. Ever since the Torment, Valkyrie had had a great deal of mistrust concerning the Children of the Spider. She would probably be shocked later, when she had time to stop and think, to realise just what Mist's betrayal meant.

"Don't mention it," China said with a faint smile, lying back on her many pillows.

Valkyrie caught up with Skulduggery as he strode out of the Hospital Wing and for the first time in her life a small part of Valkyrie felt sorry for Madam Mist. She had no idea what was about to hit her. Skulduggery had murder on his mind and blood would surely follow.


	17. Homecoming

**AN: First off I'd like to apologise for the delay in this update. It's been a combination of holidaying, charity stuff, friends and family and huge writer's block that's kept me from getting this finished piece done until now. So, sorry and everything. I'll try not to let it happen again. Now I'd like to thank Morgan Sulfur for helping me with some delicate decisions and just fantastic help over the course of writing this chapter and story. She's been a great help! As have all the people who've reviewed this, favourited and followed it and just generally been really supportive and just great. As always, any questions or anything please PM me, I check it on a regular basis so your questions will be answered. Thanks again everyone, hope you enjoy and this is for you!**

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Chapter Sixteen: Homecoming

The gun felt heavy in her hands. Unfamiliar and uncomfortable. It was cold against her grip as she walked slowly through the deserted halls of the Sanctuary. Her eyes scanning the darkened hallway. Looking for enemies in the darkness, concealed foes, who were lying in wait. Overhead flashing red lights slowly rotated, making the shadows around her move and scatter and then solidify as she walked. The sirens had long since died.

Just like everyone around her.

The necromancer ring was ice cold on her finger. Burning into her flesh. She could feel them. The dead. Their energy was flowing into her. She tried to block it out, ignore the feelings of guilt and loss welling up inside her. She could focus on that later. Right now. Right now she had more important things to do. Finding Skulduggery was top of that list. She hadn't seen him since the lockdown. Valkyrie was on her own. She had to find him. It was what kept her ploughing forwards through the darkness.

Her boot snagged against something and she almost tripped. Her racing heart almost jumped out of her chest. A scream escaped her lips. She threw herself sideways out of sheer instinct. Her eyes scanning the floor. Her fingers clicking. Light flooding the corridor.

The body of a dead Cleaver, his helmet smashed, face mangled, blood splattered across the floor and broken shards of helmet. Some shards were even embedded in what remained of his face. It was grotesque. Blood stained his grey uniform, what was left of it at any rate. Valkyrie could feel the bile in her mouth and she stared in horror. He had been ripped apart. Arms. Legs. His back torn open. There was blood everywhere. Too much blood.

She staggered away, keeping her mouth clammed shut. She had to keep going. She couldn't stop. She couldn't look back. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her breathing, to slow down her racing heart, she continued down the hallway. She was shaking, she hadn't even realised but she was, the gun was moving violently in her quaking hand. She took a firmer grip. She had to calm down. She was freaking out. The image of that Cleaver, ripped apart, burned in her mind's eye. She couldn't get it out of her head.

They should have seen it coming. But Skulduggery hadn't been thinking straight, neither had she, China's arrival, Mist's betrayal, it had all been too much and had all been one big set up. As good as China was at gathering information there was no way she could get something like that on Mist unless Mist wanted her to. But they had rushed in head first, not thinking, not stopping for breath, and it had cost them. It had been a trap. She could die down here. Underground and alone. She wanted to see her parents. One last time. God she had missed them. Almost five months apart and she hadn't seen them once. She would give anything to see them just one more time. She couldn't die down here. She just couldn't.

Then, out in the darkness, a door slammed open. Valkyrie's breath caught in her throat. There was something out there. Someone moving, a figure in the shadows. Valkyrie doused the flames in her hand and bought the gun up in both hands, just as Skulduggery had showed her, pulling the hammer back, ready to fire. Another figure moved, leaping at the first, swinging and flipped. There was a shout. A cry for help. That was quickly silenced in a flourish and the first figure fell. Dead.

Valkyrie didn't move, adjusting her grip on the gun, making it firmer. Blood pounded in her ears, fear starting to take hold, and then the figure moved into the red light of the security lights. It was a woman, a little taller than Valkyrie. She had blonde hair and wore brown leather and an all too familiar smile on her blood splattered face.

"Hey Val," Tanith Low said, sheathing her sword. "Fancy seeing you here."

* * *

_A Few Hours Earlier..._

After their brief encounter with China in the Hospital Wing, Valkyrie found herself journeying through the empty halls of Hogwarts to the Headmaster's office with Skulduggery leading the way. According to Skulduggery there was only one way to quickly get out of the castle. A portkey. Which was a device that teleported people to a pre-set destination at a pre-set time. Essentially, buses or trains but with teleportation was the way Valkyrie understood it. Apparently, according to Skulduggery, they couldn't just call Fetcher because of the wards surrounding Hogwarts. They stopped wizards doing their version of teleporting and the same could apply to Fletcher's abilities. While it might, there was still a high chance that Fletcher would get hurt doing it. Valkyrie immediately scrapped that idea, which left them with a portkey, a portkey that they needed a wizard to create for them.

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk when they entered, Skulduggery opening the door without knocking. Ordinarily he would have waited to be granted entrance but the anger that had taken hold of him ever since they had met China a few hours ago was still burning bright inside him. Retribution was on his mind and he didn't care who got in the way, not anymore, nothing was going to stop him getting his hands on Mist. Valkyrie could see it, even without a face she could read him now. His body language, the clenched fists, the striding walk in place of his stroll, everything, it all pointed to his pent up anger.

"Detectives," Dumbledore said in greeting, though he didn't look up from the parchment that he was reading but merely reached out lazily and summoned two armchairs in front of his desk. "Please, take a seat."

"We won't be staying for long," Skulduggery replied coming to a halt just in front of Dumbledore's desk, his bony frame casting a shadow over whatever the headmaster was reading.

"In that case, what is it you have come to talk to me about?" Dumbledore asked, finally looking up from the parchment on his desk, his blue eyes twinkling. Valkyrie felt as though they never stopped, it was disconcerting to say the least. But it wasn't just that twinkling that made her feel uneasy around him, though she suspected it was meant to have the opposite effect. It was the feeling that whenever he looked at her she felt as though he could see into her very soul, every secret, every truth, every feeling she had ever had laid bare to him. She was probably just imagining it but for a second, when his eyes fell on her as he looked up, it felt like he knew everything.

"We are in pursuit of a suspect and you're going to help us get to her. We need a portkey to Roarhaven."

"Why is it that you need me?" Dumbledore asked. "Do you not have teleporters at your disposal? I remember, in my youth, meeting one of them, he worked for your Sanctuary. Tome, I believe his name was."

"All the teleporters but one are dead," Skulduggery told him. "So, we aren't about to risking him against the wards you've placed around the castle. We could leave and call him, yes, but we are in a hurry. So, if you wouldn't mind."

"Of course," Dumbledore said with that serene smile of his. He drew his wand and with a slight twirl and an elaborate flourish a white quill appeared in mid-air before floating gently down to Dumbledore's ornate desk. "I assume that this suspect has something to do with Miss Sorrows and the events that occurred in the village early today."

"You could say that."

"The Minister was most displeased with the display between yourself and Miss Sorrows." Dumbledore informed them, pausing, turning his blue eyes from the quill back up to Skulduggery. "In fact, he was almost insistent that both you and Miss Cain be removed from Hogwarts. Ever since Christmas he has been looking for an excuse to punish you for your, in his mind, harsh treatment of Mister Malfoy."

"Malfoy always did say he had friends in high places," Skulduggery said. "Fudge was one of those friends, wasn't he?"

"Indeed he was," Dumbledore answered. "Or rather, is, despite Lucius' imprisonment. He is trying to use his extensive influence to recover Lucius."

"That's not going to happen."

"I told him as much," Dumbledore sighed. "But it is his reason, nonetheless. Put simply, he believes that you started it and now he wants you both out of the way. While Miss Cain is needed for the Tournament no such circumstances protect you. Consider this a warning, Detective. I doubt that you will be given another."

With that Dumbledore gave another flick of his wand and the quill glowed blue. A moment later the bright light that shone from it faded and it was once again just a normal, slightly battered, quill. It was a little underwhelming. She had be expecting something more, from what she had seen of wizarding magic it tended to be on a grand scale. But then, she was seeing Hogwarts during a Tournament where, no doubt, they'd want to show off to the other schools.

"Now," Dumbledore said, picking up the quill and holding it out to Skulduggery. "If yourself and Miss Cain would hold this it will take you where you need to go."

Skulduggery took it and Valkyrie, arching an eyebrow at him, held onto the feathery end of the quill. They waited in silence. Dumbledore had taken a golden, almost antique, pocket watch from his robes and was staring at it intently. Skulduggery said nothing. He was just staring. His eye sockets were looking down at Dumbledore's desk. Valkyrie hated silence. She hated waiting. She hated standing there doing nothing. She wanted to find Mist. It was her fault that Valkyrie was here. Stuck. Away from her family. Away from everything that mattered to her. The longer she waited the more Valkyrie could feel her anger bubbling up inside her. Mist wasn't going to know what hit her.

"Three," Dumbledore said speaking up and breaking the silence that had ballooned out in front of Valkyrie like a gaping abyss. "Two. One."

At his words it happened. Something like a hook, a magical hook, grabbed her naval and yanked her forwards. There was nothing but a stream of colour in front of her eyes. Everything was a blur. Rushing wind filled her ears. The only constant was Skulduggery. His thin frame. His bony fingers digging into her arm.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, Valkyrie felt herself slamming into the ground. She cried out, staggering, her boot hitting something that sent her to the ground. She cursed. That was nothing like teleporting. She hated it. She hated portkeys. They were stupid.

"We're here." Skulduggery said from above her, his hands back in his pockets having let go of her as soon as they landed. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Valkyrie answered, getting to her feet, scowling at the stupid quill that was now on the cracked and grimy pavement. "What are we going to do, though? We can't just walk in there. If she's really a part of all this like China says then she'll run as soon as she knows we're here."

"I'd thought of that." Skulduggery told her taking out what Valkyrie recognised instantly as a Cloaking Sphere. "I got it the last time I was here."

"Didn't Ravel order you to put it back like he did last time?"

"He might have mentioned something like that." Skulduggery said with a shrug. "But it must have slipped my mind. Now, come on, Mist isn't going to wait around forever."

They hurried through the small town, encountering no-one. Skulduggery's false face had melted into to place but there was no need for it. There was nobody to see them thanks to Skulduggery's use of the many alleyways and backstreets that intersected through the small town. Once or twice Valkyrie was sure that someone was going to see them when they rounded a blind corner or stepped out of the mouth of an alleyway. But their luck held.

That didn't, however, stop Valkyrie's nervously pounding heart. It hadn't hit her before but now they were in Roarhaven, away from Hogwarts, she was worried about what would happen if they were caught. Technically she wasn't meant ot be in Roarhaven and Skulduggery hadn't been called in. That coupled with what she knew Skulduggery would do to Mist if he found her didn't leave her with the most optimistic output. But there was no stopping him from going, she knew that, all she could do was go along for the ride and do what he had done for her so many times. Stop him from doing something he would regret.

Skulduggery drew his gun as they neared the Sanctuary, he wasn't taking any chances. She could almost hear her heart pounding in the silence. She looked at Skulduggery who was twisting the Cloaking Sphere. The bubble expanded and enveloped them. Skulduggery led the way, pushing open the main doors.

Valkyrie nearly froze as soon as they entered. Unlike every other time she had been through the entrance of the Sanctuary there were two Cleavers standing guard. Scythes in hand. Ready to attack. They flanked the door and both turned to look at, what they perceived to be, a door that had opened all by itself. She had to forcibly remind herself that they couldn't see her and that to them she wasn't there.

They hurried on, Valkyrie keeping half an eye on the two Cleavers. Part of her expected them to give chase, as she had seen them do on more than one occasion. They were fast, deadly fast, and they aimed to stop their targets. It didn't matter to them whether or not that meant using the razor shard scythes. Skulduggery could probably take one of them but not two and Valkyrie knew that, even on her best day, she was no match for the Cleavers.

"Now what?" Valkyrie asked, her voice a whisper. She knew that the sphere blocked out sight and sound from the rest of the world but that still didn't make her feel comfortable talking normally when they were sneaking past Cleavers.

"Now we find Mist." Skulduggery answered as they ducked past a haggard looking sorcerer with terrible hair. "Find out what she knows and, if she is involved, arrest her."

"Simple as that?"

"Simple as that."

It turned out that it wasn't as simple as that. The Sanctuary was buzzing with activity. Whatever was going on everyone seemed to be a part of it. Mages were hurrying through the corridors and there were other mages standing guard in place of the Cleavers that should have been manning those positions. It was on red alert. All the while Skulduggery remained tense, keeping his gun in his hand and saying nothing. It was the only sign that Valkyrie had that this wasn't normal. If it had been he would have been making some comment about being left out of the loop, he'd most likely have been insulted, his huge ego wounded by the lack of consultation by the council. As it was he was silent and only spoke to direct Valkyrie as they journeyed deeper and deeper into the Sanctuary.

Mist wasn't in the Council Chamber, but that was to be expected. Ravel and Ghastly too were absent, after all. That meant she was likely to be in her own private chamber. If she wasn't. Well, Valkyrie just hoped Mist was in her chamber. She didn't fancy searching the entire Sanctuary room by room without being seen and the Cloaking Sphere wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later it was going to fail.

Skulduggery chose a route that went around the main bulk of the Sanctuary's offices, jail and halls instead leading Valkyrie to the Medical Bay. It was a longer and Valkyrie was sure they had been forced to double back on themselves to go that way. But, as Skulduggery explained, it meant that they could avoid the hive of activity in the centre of the Sanctuary meaning they were less likely to be detected.

Dr Nye's labs were almost empty. Only one Cleaver, clad in grey, stood sentinel outside the doors to the Nye's domain. But it wasn't the Cleaver that made Valkyrie and Skulduggery stop at the end of the corridor. It was the man sitting in the very plastic and very uncomfortable chairs outside, not Nye's lab, but its operating theatre. Ghastly Bespoke, his hands clasped together and his head down with an abandoned cup of coffee sitting on the floor nearby, sat there looking more serious and worried than Valkyrie had ever seen him.

"What the hell?" Valkyrie found herself saying, the words falling out of her mouth before she could even remember to whisper. "Ghastly? What's he doing here?"

"Waiting," Skulduggery replied, his head tilting slightly. "By the looks of it. Though, who for I haven't the..."

He stopped, the eyebrows on his false face rising slightly. They were thick and brown and almost disappeared beneath the hat that he had pulled low over his face.

"Tanith."

"What?" Valkyrie asked stunned. She wanted to say something else. Something more, anything. But she couldn't think of anything. Her brain had gone blank, shock rippling through her mind. They couldn't be operating. Not now. The last she had heard the risks were still too great. Tanith might die. That was the only thing running through Valkyrie's head, like a train on an endless track. Tanith might die. Her friend, who she had lost for so long, might die and be lost forever.

"It's the only thing that makes sense." Skulduggery said. "Ghastly wouldn't wait like that for anyone else. It has to be her."

Valkyrie nodded, it made sense, after all. She stood there, staring at Ghastly. More than anything she wanted to go and sit with him, wait with him, she wanted to make sure that Tanith was going to be okay, make sure Ghastly was okay. In that moment her reason for trespassing in the Sanctuary, her reason for coming home, was forgotten. Mist. The conspiracy. The game she was being forced to play. Everything. Forgotten. They paled into insignificance next to Tanith and the pain she knew Ghastly must be feeling.

"We need to talk to him," Skulduggery said, dragging her out of her reverie. "He might know where Mist is. Here," he held out the Cloaking Sphere, "take this."

"What are you doing?" Valkyrie asked as he stepped around the corner, taking off his hat and handing it to her. She took it as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his jacket.

"We need to talk to him," Skulduggery repeated, pressing his finger to the symbols on his collarbones. The false face that he had let melt away during their search flowed into existence, wrapping around his skull, melting into place. "They'll recognise you. But, that Cleaver won't recognise me like this. Hopefully"

And with that he rounded the corner before Valkyrie could say another word. Cursing him she followed, the Cloaking sphere keeping her hidden from sight. Any moment now she knew that the Cleaver was going to recognise him and leap into action. There was no way they would be lucky enough for this to actually work. They were never that lucky. Ever. But, by some miracle, the Cleaver didn't move. Instead it just looked at Skulduggery, watching him somewhat warily, but not springing at him scythe drawn as Valkyrie had expected.

Ghastly looked up as Skulduggery approached and Valkyrie could see how tired his scarred face looked. She had seen him tired before but never this bad. Even from her vantage point she could the bags under his eyes.

"I thought I told everyone I don't want to be disturbed." Ghastly said, sighing slightly. "In fact I remember distinctly saying that. I made a little speech and everything. Surely Ravel told you that?"

"He did," Skulduggery said. "But, I'm afraid, it's important. He told me to come and fetch you, Your Eminence."

Ghastly's face froze. He stared up at Skulduggery as though he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. The Cleaver didn't bat an eyelid. Or, at least, Valkyrie assumed that it didn't. She couldn't tell through the visor. But it didn't move. Not even a fraction. It stood there like a statue while Ghastly stared at Skulduggery in sheer shock.

"How important?"

"Unimaginably."

"It had better be," Ghastly said, his displeasure at having to move away from Tanith in her moment of need clear in his voice. It was almost palpable. Then he turned to the Cleaver. "Stay here. I won't be long. Come find me the moment anything changes, understood?"

The Cleaver nodded and Ghastly rose from his chair, together he and Skulduggery walked back down the corridor, Ghastly looking as though he wanted to hit something.

"What," he began as soon as they rounded the corner. "Are you doing here?"

"It's nice to see you too, Ghastly." Skulduggery said, his false face melting back into the symbols on his collarbones. "Do you think, perhaps, we could have this conversation somewhere private?"

"Through here," Ghastly told him, directing him to a door further down the corridor. Valkyrie followed them into what looked like Nye's storage cupboard. Shelves lined the walls, different ingredients and medicines, and what looked like a human hand in a glass container, placed in very precise orders. Looking closely Valkyrie realised they were alphabetically ordered. It didn't exactly shock her. The creature had more than an obsession with order and control.

As soon as the door shut behind her she let the Cloaking Sphere contract and vanish before throwing Skulduggery his hat. Ghastly turned and stared at her in complete and total surprise. "Valkyrie, but you can't be here. That contract, it said you couldn't leave."

"That's not really true," Valkyrie told him dropping the Cloaking Sphere into her coat pocket. "Mist lied. She's lied about everything, Ghastly."

"What are you talking about?"

"None of us saw that contract," Valkyrie said as Skulduggery leaned against the only free patch of wall, adjusting his hat in the reflection of a jar with some weird looking tentacles inside. "That letter Dumbledore supposedly sent was forged. Mist read the copy of the contract he sent and changed it to suit her needs. She knows a lot more too. How my name got into that Goblet. Everything. It's all part of her plan."

"What needs? What plan?"

"She needed us out of the country," Skulduggery said, taking over from Valkyrie. "Apparently myself and Valkyrie pose the biggest threat to whatever it is she has planned. Something she had to waylay when I came back before Christmas. That's why she sent Tanith and Sanguine after you, Valkyrie, to distract us long enough to get everything into place. We're here to stop her. She could have killed Valkyrie and she isn't going to stop there. Where is she, Ghastly?"

"How do you know all this?" Ghastly asked. "She's an Elder, Skulduggery. You can't just go accusing her of this without any evidence. I know she's creepy but I can't believe she'd do something like this."

"China."

Silence greeted his words. Ghastly's eyes going wide in shock, his mouth open slightly. He was lost for words. Valkyrie knew exactly how he felt. It was the same feeling that had gripped her so firmly when she had laid eyes on China what felt like weeks ago but it had been less than a day. It had all happened so fast Valkyrie hadn't had a chance to process it all. She would at some points he knew that, but right in that moment she didn't have time. They had a job to do. Stop Mist and find out what the hell was going on.

"You're being serious aren't you?"

"Incredibly."

"Are you okay? With her being involved in all this?"

"I wouldn't say that." Skulduggery answered. "But right now she's all we've got. Well, her and a flash drive with all the proof you need. Mist planned this. I want to know why. But to find that out, I need to find her. Where is she?"

"In her chamber." Ghastly said. "We're supposed to be preparing for the meeting with the German Council in two days time but I couldn't -"

But Valkyrie never found out why Ghastly had been unable to prepare for his meeting with the German Council. Sirens, loud and shrill, pierced the air. Somewhere in the distance there was a rumbling, short and loud, like explosions. The Sanctuary was going into lock down. That meant only one thing. They were being attacked.

Skulduggery's gun was in his hand as they hurried out into the corridor, Valkyrie in the lead, her head going form right to left, looking for the intruders but there was no-one. The Cleaver appeared out of nowhere, slamming into the wall further down the hall, a stream of yellow light hitting it square in the chest. But the stream didn't stop there. It continued up, intensifying, melting through the Cleaver's grey uniform and helmet, burning through the flesh and bone until the Cleaver lay there motionless. Dead.

Ghastly clicked his fingers summoning fire into his hands. Skulduggery pulled back the hammer of his gun, keeping it levelled at the mouth of the corridor ready whoever and whatever had killed that Cleaver so easily. Shadows curled around Valkyrie's fist. They were more powerful than they would have been had they not been standing feet away from a dead body. She could feel the power flowing into her.

A man, who looked to be in his late fifties, though he was probably much older, rounded the corner laughing at the body of the dead Cleaver. His clothes looked second hand and mismatched. A faded black t-shirt stretched across his vast chest. A tattered brown overcoat, stained with dark with blood, went all the way down to his scuffed and battered boots. Around his thick neck was a loosely tied black tie. He was unshaven and looked as though he hadn't seen the inside of a barber's for a few years.

"So many of you," the man exclaimed, a smile pulling across his scarred face, revealing yellowed and cracked teeth. "Finally, a fight worth my time and I was just beginning to get bored!"

"We aim to please," Skulduggery said and the man laughed again. It was a bark like laugh filled with a sadistic humour. He was revelling in the carnage that Valkyrie knew must be taking hold of the Sanctuary. They had never been lockdown before. Then Skulduggery fired, the bullet hitting the man in the shoulder. He spun and dropped to one knee, yellow light spilling out of the wound. A warlock.

"Now you make me angry," the man growled, a hand on his wound, healing the damage done by Skulduggery's gun. His eyes flashed, his humour gone, replaced by something darker. A deep and unbridled rage. "You will not like me when I am angry."

The hand he had used to heal himself stretched out towards them and began to bubble and boil. Valkyrie threw up a wall of shadows just as the jet of light shot towards them. The attack slammed into the shadows with such force that Valkyrie was sent staggering backwards. She cursed, the shadows dissipating as Skulduggery dropped his gun and shot towards the warlock.

The warlock dodged back and sent another stream of yellow light at Skulduggery sending him hurtling into the far wall. Both hands came up, aiming at Skulduggery's crumpled form, but before the warlock could finish his attack Ghastly had hurled a fireball, setting the warlock's brown coat alight. There was a fury filled scream, the warlock whirling and that coat spinning around him before being thrown aside.

Ghastly followed up his attack with punch, having used the diversion to close in on the warlock. Fists send the warlock's head snapping back. There was a cry of pain but Ghastly didn't give him any room to manoeuvre. He started working the body before sending another fist slamming into his face. The warlock staggered back and sent out a beam of light wildly at Ghastly. The Elder crumpled to the ground, that yellow beam of light catching his right leg.

Valkyrie sent out a tendril of shadows that opened up a gash in the warlock's arm. Growling the warlock turned to face, one hand on his wound, the other aiming at her. She threw herself sideways and the attack flew over her head burning a hole into the wall behind her. She responded with an attack of her own, snapping her palm against the air. The warlock pulled the fallen Cleaver into him, using the body as a shield. The air rippled around him and he began to laugh.

But the laugh was cut short when Skulduggery shot into him, using the air to propel them both forwards. The lifeless for of the Cleaver dropped and it was all the warlock could do to stop the punches and elbows Skulduggery was raining down on him. All that anger and rage that had taken hold of him earlier was now being directed squarely at the warlock, he didn't stand a chance. He'd soon be knocked unconscious from the pain, he had to be, but as Valkyrie watched she knew Skulduggery wasn't going to stop. He was going to kill him.

Skulduggery, the Skulduggery that Valkyrie knew, wouldn't kill him not when there was a way to stop him without it. He was violent, yes, but not a killer. Not anymore. But all that anger that had boiled up inside of him was in control now. He wasn't going to stop. He was going to beat the man underneath him to a very painful and excruciating death. It wasn't right. He should be arrested. Not killed.

"Skulduggery!"

Skulduggery looked up, his fist halfway to the man's face. Yellow light was streaming from his wounds, bursting from the man cuts and the nose that Valkyrie knew must be broken. But in that second that Skulduggery looked up the warlock had twisted and sent a stream of light into Skulduggery's chest.

Valkyrie shouted his name but it was no use. Skulduggery was thrown backwards and landed with a sickening crunch on the floor down the end of the corridor and then that light turned on her. She didn't have time to react. The shock at seeing Skulduggery fall had taken hold of her. She hadn't even seen it coming until it was too late.

She fell back. Numb. Everything was numb. She could feel nothing. Not even her head as it slammed hard into the floor. There should be pain. A lot pain. But there was nothing. Not even a whisper. The world around her was dead. Her senses fading. It felt as though everything was an echo, a shadow of what it should.

She tried to move her head up, to look at the warlock, but couldn't. It just rocked back to the hard floor and stayed there. She couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel anything. Everything felt dead. She wanted to look up. To see what was going on but she couldn't move. No doubt there was still fighting. Ghastly was probably kicking the hell out of him right now and would come and save her or Skulduggery would be back on his feet, ready to fight again. But she had no idea. She just lay there. Unable to move.

Something twitched. Her finger. Her index finger. She could feel tingling. Tingling was good. Soon she'd be able to move and then she'd make that warlock regret what he'd done. She tried to flex it but couldn't. Then again and again. The tingling was spreading now, moving up her hand and into her arm.

Then the warlock stepped into view, a feral smile on his lips. He hunkered down beside her, his face only inches from hers. More than anything she wanted to slam her forehead into his smirking face, despite the yellow light that still shone from his cracked and cut skin. She stopped moving though. Lying completely still. She couldn't let him know. Not until the last second. He couldn't know, if he did, he'd kill her.

"You fought well, but not well enough." He said in that thick European accent but Valkyrie wasn't really listening. The feeling was returning in her hand. She could move it. Nt much but she could move it. Slowly she felt around for the one thing she knew could save her. Her Necromancer ring wasn't an option. All the feeling in that hand was gone but there was one more thing. One thing that could save her. She just had to find it.

"I expected more," the warlock continued, taking a long, curved blade from his jacket pocket. It shone in the dark light. Red light bouncing off it as the sirens continued to blare above her. "More from the Great Valkyrie Cain and her legendary skeleton partner. Perhaps what I hear is wrong. Perhaps you are not so great."

She could it feel it under her hand now. Slowly she wrapped her hand around it, getting a firm grip, she only had one shot at this. She couldn't afford to mess it up.

"But it does not matter now," he was too wrapped up in his little speech to notice Valkyrie's hand moving back towards her, bringing her last ditch hope with it. This had to work. She didn't want to imagine what would happen if it didn't. No. It was going to work. She didn't like the plan but she detested the alternative even more. It was her or him. "Now, you die."

"I don't think so," Valkyrie muttered and she pulled the trigger of Skulduggery's fallen gun.

Light poured from the gunshot wound in his stomach and she fired again, higher up this time, hitting him in the chest, just below his heart. He stared down at her wide eyed, his mouth hanging open, light seeped from there too, it creeping into his eyes and bursting from the open cuts in his face. She knew what was going to happen next. Snapping the hand that was holding the gun at the air she sent him skidding backwards, a few feet away, alone in the middle of the corridor.

He screamed in agony as the light began to tear through him, burning up inside him, every cell, every organ, even his blood was boiling as the light burned him up. She tried to crawl back but her legs were still dead, refusing to obey as she desperately tried to back off from the warlock before the inevitable happened.

And then the warlock exploded.

The air ripped apart. A blast of sound and heat and force slammed into Valkyrie all at once as the blinding yellow light filled the hallway. She was sent flying off the ground as debris crashed all around. But before she knew anything else Valkyrie hit the wall and everything went black.


	18. Reunion

Chapter Seventeen: Reunion

_Present..._

"Tanith?" Valkyrie asked completely and totally stunned at the woman before her. "Is that you? I mean, really you?"

"You better believe it," Tanith grinned and before Valkyrie knew what she was doing she was enveloping her friend, her long lost friend. In that split second of realisation she forgot that the Sanctuary was under siege, that they might be attacked at any moment. She even, for the slightest of moments, forgot Mist. Nothing mattered more than Tanith. She was back.

And then her mind took control again, her instincts subdued as a thought, an insidious but nevertheless worrying thought, entered her mind.

"How do I know it's you?" Valkyrie asked backing away from Tanith. "That Remnent, it can hide what it really is, pretend to be normal, how do I know that's not what you're doing right now?"

"Because I'm not, Val. You know me, am I acting like a crazy Remnant?"

"No," Valkyire answered. "But that Remnant would do anything to stay in control. It did before. Tanith you nearly beat me up when I tried to stop it getting away with you."

"I did?" Tanith asked and there was real genuine shock in her voice. Pain and regret flashed across her eyes as she stared at Valkyrie. It was so raw, so real that Valkyrie almost found herself incapable of believing that Tanith, the Tanith that stood before, could be the Remnant. But she had to be sure. She couldn't risk the Remnant still being inside her. If Nye was around then they could ask it how the operation had gone but Nye was nowhere to be seen. It was just her and Tanith.

"Who are you in love with?" Valkyrie heard herself ask, the words spilling out of her mouth as the idea came into her head, so fast that she didn't even have time to soften up the question. Tanith, the real Tanith, had been falling for Ghastly the last time that Valkyrie had seen her. But when that creature had been in control Sanguine, somehow, Valkyrie wasn't sure how and dind't want to know, had entered the picture. If Tanith was really who she said she was not only would she say Ghastly but she wouldn't know about Sanguine.

"Excuse me?"

"Answer the question, Tanith."

"You know who," Tanith said but Valkyrie remained silent, arching an eyebrow, she had to hear Tanith say it. Sighing Tanith spoke again, "Ghastly. Alright? That enough for you?"

Valkyrie didn't respond straight away. She didn't want to do this. But she had to be sure. Though she knew that if Tanith was really Tanith she wasn't going to thank her for this little piece of news.

"Not Sanguine then?"

"Sanguine?" Tanith asked laughing at little at Valkyrie's words. But then that laugh died and her eyes widened in complete and total mortification as she realised what Valkyrie's words meant. "Oh my God. You don't mean... I didn't... With him? You can't be serious? Val, please, tell me I didn't..."

"You kind of did,"

"That's disgusting!" Tanith shouted looking as though she wanted to be physically sick. "I mean I knew I'd have done some pretty bad stuff but that's just gross!"

"So you don't remember anything?" Valkyrie asked hoping that she didn't sound too eager to ask that question.

It was something, a dark lingering thought, which had plagued her mind ever since she knew Tanith was going to be operated on all those months ago. What if Tanith remembered something? Something about Darquesse, about who she really was, about who Valkyrie really was. Valkyrie hadn't wanted to imagine it but that possibility was always there, at the back of her mind, taunting her, burning brighter with every day. Tanith could know the truth.

"Not a thing," Tanith answered shaking her head. "Last thing I remember was that thing crawling inside me and then I woke up here. It was weird, like I'd been asleep for ages only I wasn't. I was walking and talking and doing God knows what."

"But it's over now," Valkyrie said, smiling, a wave of relief crashing over her. The smile was probably too big, too happy but Valkyrie didn't care. Tanith didn't know. Valkyrie couldn't quite believe it. It didn't feel right somehow, after everything else that had happened to her, it didn't feel right something going her way for a change. "You're back, that's the main thing."

"Yeah," Tanith agreed grinning and it was different grin to the one the Remnant had worn on her face. Instead of cruel, sadistic pleasures fuelling it. But on Tanith's face there was happiness, a real, genuine happiness that the Remnant could only dream of. "I am, aren't I?"

There was a pause as Tanith stood there, a goofy grin on her face. It looked as though the consequences of waking up, of being free, were only just sinking in. She was back and back for good. But then that smile faded as she looked back at Valkyrie and sudden seriousness took over her features.

"C'mon," she said. "We've got to out of her before -"

"No," Valkyrie snapped, cutting across her. "We're not running. We need to find Skulduggery."

"Skulduggery?"

"We got split up." Valkyrie answered remembering the gigantic explosion that had torn apart the corridor in which she had last seen her partner. When she had woken up there had been nothing but debris and rubble all around her. Skulduggery had gone and as much she had hoped it was to find a way around to her she knew where he would go. Mist. He had head start, Valkyrie knew, but he had also had to fight his way through warlocks and whatever else Mist had arranged for. Valkyrie had no such problems and she was closer than he had been. "But we need to find him. I don't have enough time to explain why but it's important. Tanith, please?"

"Alright," Tanith nodded after a moment. "Lead the way."

Valkyrie felt herself grinning before setting off into the gloom.

The Sanctuary was just as empty as it had been when Valkyrie had awoken. But unlike before the overwhelming sense of dread and foreboding wasn't taking hold of her. Not when Tanith was by her side. She had her back, could protect her and most importantly was a friend. In the darkness, trapped, Valkyrie needed Tanith.

As they walked Tanith filled Valkyrie in on what had happened while she had been out.

"I'd just woken up," Tanith was saying as they made their way down yet another empty corridor. "I had a hell of a shock too when I saw that thing standing over me. I was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't Nye. I've heard stories about that thing, it experimented on people, Val. What the hell is it doing here?"

"We needed a new doctor," Valkyrie shrugged. "Nye was next on the list after Kenspeckle."

"You mean?"

"Yeah," Valkyrie nodded her throat suddenly dry. She didn't like talking about Kenspeckle. No-one did. For all his faults and his grumpy bed-side manner he had been a good doctor, a good man, he hadn't deserved what had happened to him. No-one did. But especially not Kenspeckle. Not after everything he had done for her, for Skulduggery, all those people he'd saved. No, it wasn't right, but that didn't stop it being true.

"Oh my God," Tanith muttered. "Val, I'm sorry, I know you and he were close."

"Yeah," Valkyrie said again. She sighed and looked away from Tanith. "So, what happened next?"

"Nye was getting ready to run some tests on me when we heard some kind of explosion. It was probably that damn warlock you dealt with. Nye was all for barricading us in, leave everyone else to deal with what was going on but I soon changed its attitude."

"I hope you didn't hit it too hard," Valkyrie said. "We're going to need it after all this."

"Don't worry, Val. I just slapped it about a bit, nothing major." Tanith replied. "Point is, I got out and thanks to the explosion there was no way I could reach you through all the debris. So I had to fight my way out through the tunnels. It wasn't just warlocks I was fighting either. There were mages down there helping them. Roarhaven mages. I would've been killed by them too if Ghastly hadn't been there."

"You saw Ghastly? How'd that go?"

"It didn't really, we were a bit too busy fighting for our lives. But if we make it out of here then maybe it will. That is... I mean, if he hasn't found anyone."

"He hasn't," Valkyrie said quickly, a grin on her face. Ghastly had waited for Tanith, despite the fact that everything around him was telling him to move on and that he wasn't going to see the Tanith he loved again. Yet her she was, the woman he'd waited for. All they had to do was get out of her and his wait would be over.

"Anyway," Tanith continued hurriedly. "He's the one that sent me to find you and get you out of here. The remaining Cleavers were getting him out of here, there was nothing he could do, Val."

"I know. The Elders are top priority."

"I couldn't believe he was an Elder when he told me," Tanith said. "A lot's happened since I was gone, huh?"

"You can say that again," Valkyrie muttered. Tanith had missed a lot. Vile, the supposed Death bringer and attempted killing of almost three billion people, Argeddion's Summer of Light, everything that had happened with Fletcher and even little Alice being born. There was a lot of catching up to do. But now wasn't the time. When they were out of the Sanctuary then Valkyrie would tell her.

It didn't take them long to navigate their way through the broken and battered Sanctuary. Despite one or two debris filled corridors which caused them to double back and find another route they didn't face anything that troubled them. The warlocks were either massing somewhere else or they had all been killed and the Elders were waiting for reinforcements before retaking the Sanctuary. Part of Valkyrie hoped for the latter. But she knew it wasn't true. There were too many dead. Too many mages and Cleavers. No. They were still here. But where, Valkyrie had no idea.

But it wasn't just the warlocks that they didn't encounter. There was still no sign of Skulduggery. The closer they got to their goal the more Valkyrie's fears heightened. What if he had gotten there before them? Sure he'd had further to go but he'd had more time. For all Valkyrie knew Mist could be in his grasp as she plunged through the darkness. He might have hidden his anger from Ghastly but Valkyrie knew what would happen if he got there first. Mist wouldn't have chance to get a trial. All that pent up rage at seeing China was now pointed squarely at Mist. He wasn't thinking straight and she had to stop him, just like he had done for her so many times. It was time to repay the favour.

The section of the Sanctuary that was home to each of the Elders private chambers was seemed to have seen less of the fighting than the rest of the Sanctuary. There were no broken walls, no corpses and no real indication that there had been any fighting. The only signs were a few bloodstains and a few broken and smashed doors that were hanging off their hinges. But that was it. It wasn't right. There wasn't enough. There was no evidence. Just a big evidence shaped hole.

Mist. It had to be. She had been here. If the warlocks had attacked on her say so, like Valkyrie suspected, then they would have left this section alone. Apart from to get Ravel. He'd been in his chambers too. Valkyrie felt her blood run cold at the thought. That could be Ravel's blood on the walls. As experienced a fighter he was even he couldn't take on all those warlocks. She just hoped he'd had time to escape. She didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he hadn't.

Valkyrie was torn from her reverie as something moved in the darkness before her. She froze. Staring. Trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had moved. But there was nothing. No movement. No threat.

"Val?" Tanith asked, her hand on her sword as she frowned at her friend. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Valkyrie said, not taking her eyes of the impenetrable darkness before her. "I just thought I saw something." Maybe she'd imagined it but she was sure that something had been there. Just out of sight. Taunting them. No. It was nothing. She was just panicking. Down here, who wouldn't? It was just a trick of the light or something. If it was a warlock they'd have attacked by now. One of those beams would have shot out of the darkness. No it was...

More movement, a flurry this time, accompanied by running footsteps. There was something there. There was definitely something there. Valkyrie clicked her fingers, pouring her magic into the spark, generating a flame. Light flooded the corridor all around them, throwing everything, the bloodstains, the broken doors, everything into full relief. Everything nearby was illuminated. Everything nearby. But still Valkyrie couldn't see what was moving. It was running. Running towards them. Aiming right for them.

Then, there was nothing. Silence. The footsteps had stopped. And then all Valkyrie saw was a white blur and she ducked, rolling aside. Tanith leapt to the ceiling and sprang back down, unsheathing her sword as their assailant flipped and dropped into a crouch. The scythe was held at the ready. Dried blood stained the white uniform it wore. Valkyrie stared. It couldn't be. Not here. Not now. It had died. She'd seen it die. But there it was.

The White Cleaver.

"Valkyrie," Tanith began, her voice barely above a whisper, as she kept her eyes fixed warily on the Cleaver. "Get out of here. Go find Skulduggery. I'll deal with this."

"No way," Valkyrie said, shaking her head. She couldn't leave Tanith. Not again. Not after what had happened last time. History was repeating itself and she'd be damned if she was going to let Tanith almost get killed again. Not when she'd only just got her friend back. Back then she'd just been a a frightened young girl, barely able to defend herself, but she wasn't that same girl anymore. "I'm staying."

"We're wasting time," Tanith snapped. "You said yourself you haven't got much -"

But she was cut off as the Cleaver, sensing an opportune moment, sprang. If it hadn't been for Tanith's superior reflexes then Valkyrie was sure the Cleaver would have had her head. As it was Tanith managed to get her sword up in time, blocking the scythe and sending the Cleaver back with a kick. She pressed forwards, swinging her sword, slicing through the air, aiming to take the Cleaver's head. But it dodged back and responded with an attack of it's own, one that Tanith couldn't dodged and was forced to block. Then another and another. It was pressing forwards, keeping Tanith from attacking. It was faster than she was and Tanith knew it.

Valkyrie hurled the fireball that was burning in her free hand. It didn't catch, but it didn't have to. She knew it wouldn't. But it did send it stumbling, knocking it off balance, stopping that scythe mid-swing. Something Tanith used to her advantage, going in low, under the scythe, opening up the Cleaver's side. She didn't stop there. Another swing, this time going high, aiming for the neck. But the Cleaver, the wound already healing, struck her with the handle of the scythe, sending her back, the sword missing by inches.

It swung low before snapping the scythe back up, hoping to crack the handle into Tanith's head. But Tanith had seen it coming. Dodging back she swung with an attack of her own that the Cleaver blocked. She didn't stop, continuing to attack, her sword moving, faster than Valkyrie almost thought possible. But still the Cleaver blocked. Lightning-fast. Tanith wasn't going to get through. It was too fast. Valkyrie was torn. Between helping her friend and fearing that she would get in the way. But she wasn't about to stand there and do nothing.

The Cleaver blocked and spun, moving out of Tanith's range and responding with an attack of its own that Tanith dodged. She ducked and flipped, using her sword to block the impossibly fast scythe and swung for her again. Sparks flew as sword met scythe. Tanith was backing up now, moving closer to Valkyrie. Again she ducked aside and as the Cleaver repositioned Valkyrie moved in and under its guard, sinking her fist into it so hard that it should have been winded and staggered back. As it was the Cleaver merely twisted and sent a boot at her as it blocked another attack from Tanith.

Valkyrie ducked back and went for a power slap but the Cleaver grabbed her arm, using her momentum to flip her, sending her crashing to the floor. Pain exploded in her mind as her head smacked into the floor. But she wasn't going to let that stop her. She snapped her palm at the air, the air rippled and the Cleaver was sent staggering.

Valkyrie got to her feet just in time to see Tanith go for the killing blow. But the Cleaver was faster than her and ducked under her blade and responded with an attack of its own, opening up her stomach before smacking her hard in the face with the butt of the scythe. Tanith cried out in pain, stumbling back, her eyes wide. But somehow she managed to keep up her defences as the Cleaver continued the vicious onslaught.

Valkyrie hurried forwards, the Cleaver switching targets as soon as she got in range, swinging for her instead of Tanith. Valkyrie swayed back and smacked her fist into the helmet. Pain exploded in her hand as the Cleaver's head snapped back. She followed it up with an elbow before stomping, hard, on its knee. The leg buckled just as that scythe came for her again. She was expecting the coat that Ghastly had made for her to protect her, save her as it usually did. But that scythe could cut through almost anything, including her coat.

Pain ripped across her side as the scythe tore through her. She cried out clutching at the wound, backing away as fast as she could, avoiding another attack. Tanith threw herself forward, getting between Valkyrie and the White Cleaver, her sword clashing with that scythe. The Cleaver spun, aiming low with the scythe's blade. Tanith dodged back, avoiding the first attack but the second caught her in the stomach, the handle of the scythe snapping up, the feint tricking Tanith into lowering her guard. The Cleaver followed up the attack with another, ducking under Tanith's clumsy swing and responding with one of its own, slicing her up Tanith's chest causing her to cry out in agony.

She dropped to one knee, her sword still up but the pain was clear on her face. Blood was staining her waistcoat, dark and spreading. She rolled back, avoiding the scythe as it came down, blade first, on where she had been moments before. She tried getting to her feet but dropped almost immediately. Blood was seeping through her fingers now as she clutched at the wound.

But before the Cleaver could take another step towards Tanith, Valkyrie was hurling daggers of shadows something inside her snapping at the sight of her fallen friend. The Cleaver spun but was unable to stop avoid the fierce onslaught. Some pierced its coat, black blood bursting from the wounds but Valkyrie didn't stop there. She sent a fistful of shadows at it, taking the Cleaver off its feet and slamming it into the wall. It dropped to the floor, but instead of flipping back to its feet, as Valkyrie had expected, it stayed there, the scythe falling from its grip.

"What the hell?" Valkyrie stared it not quite believing her eyes. This couldn't be right. She had seen it come back from worse than that. Its very existence here, in the Sanctuary, proved that. Vile had ruptured it, torn it apart, it had come back from that. Its wounds from Valkyrie's shadow knives had already healed. It should up, should be fighting, what it shouldn't be doing was lying there defeated after a few attacks that it had already recovered from.

The Cleaver's head tilted as it looked up at her. No. Not at her, at her hand. She looked down at her blood stained hand. There was nothing there, nothing special, it was just her hand. And then it clicked. The ring. The Necromancer ring. Necromancy had bought it back to life. It was the reason the Cleaver was still alive, for want of a better word. Craven had taken control of it before. But Craven was dead. It needed a new master. A new necromancer to give it orders. Her. It recognised her as a Necromancer.

She almost laughed. She couldn't believe it. This could not be happening. The Cleaver, the White Cleaver, was looking at her for orders. She looked at it almost expecting this to be some kind of trap, that at any minute it would leap up, scythe in hand, ready to kill her again. But it didn't move. It just stared.

"Are you," she began, frowning, the smile fading off her face. "I mean, do you want orders? Off me?"

It nodded.

"You've got to be kidding me," Valkyrie breathed only for the White Cleaver to shake its head. She laughed. She couldn't help it. The whole idea of it, of her being in control of the White Cleaver, made her laugh for the first time in days. It was insane. She couldn't give it orders. It had tried to kill her and more than once. She wasn't even a fully fledged Necromancer. It couldn't follow her.

But the laughter died on her lips as her gaze fell on the crumpled form of Tanith. She had to do something. She'd been the one to drag Tanith into all this in the first place.

"Okay, you want orders? I'll give you an order. Get Tanith out of here. She can't die, understand me? Do whatever you have to. Just make sure she's okay."

The Cleaver nodded, picking up and sheathing the scythe before hunkering down by Tanith's side and scooping her up. Tanith muttered something but it was too quiet for Valkyrie to here. Her sword dangled in her loose grip and Valkyrie took it for her, sliding it into the scabbard on her belt. The Cleaver gave Valkyrie another, final, glance and then it was gone, hurrying down the corridor and out of sight.

Valkyrie didn't move for a moment, her eyes fixed on where the Cleaver had vanished with Tanith over its shoulder. She just hoped she'd done the right thing. If that thing lost control, stopped obeying her orders, then she might have well sent Tanith to her death. But if she hadn't done anything then Tanith might not have survived. That scythe had gone deep. Valkyrie had no idea just how badly her friend had been injured. It might just be a flesh wound but a flesh wouldn't have sent Tanith to the ground like that.

A part of Valkyrie wanted to follow the Cleaver, make sure was okay. But she had a job to do. Find Skulduggery. Valkyrie had done all she could for Tanith. Right then, in that moment, Skulduggery was the bigger concern. As much as she wanted to be by Tanith's side, worry about her, make sure that she was okay, she couldn't. That would come later. If Valkyrie survived this then, and only then, could she worry about Tanith. With that she turned and hurried away, digging out Skulduggery's gun from her pocket. Tanith was hurt and Skulduggery was about to make a huge mistake, maybe he already had, maybe there was no point in her trying to get to Mist first. But that didn't stop her. As long there was a chance she'd keep fighting. But the time for games had long since passed. Mist was going to fall.

One way or the other.


	19. Fall from Grace

**AN: Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I just wanted to make it the best that I could. Hopefully the next won't be as late. Hope you like it. **

Chapter Eighteen: Fall from Grace

It didn't take long for Valkyrie to find the first body. Unlike the rest of the Sanctuary the private chambers of the Elders were free of mangled and mutilated bodies. However, lying on the floor, unconscious, and comparatively unharmed, were two Roarhaven mages. Both men had suffered injuries, a broken nose and arm, but nothing serious. They'd recover. Valkyrie knelt down, taking a set of shackles from her coat pocket, cuffing the two men together to a nearby pipe. They weren't going anywhere now. But the fact that they were there at all confirmed her worst fears. Skulduggery was already here.

Quickening her pace Valkyrie hurried down the corridor. There was no-one there. All the mages or warlocks lay on the floor, bleeding, some in shackles, others just unconscious. Some, though Valkyrie had no clue whose side they had been on in the beginning, were dead. Either way, all had been dealt with. It had brutally, effectively done and without mercy. It did little to quell her fears. She tried her best to ignore them. Instead focusing on where the hell she was going and occasionally on the pain that was burning in her side.

She was about to turn into the corridor where she knew Mist's sanctum lay when she stopped dead, staring at an open door. Blood was smeared across it, as though a blood stained hand had been clawing at it. The smear covered the lower section. Someone had been dragged away, probably screaming for their life, begging for mercy. It took a second for her to realise who the door belonged to. Ravel. Erskine Ravel. Grand Mage of the Irish Council of Elders. Ex-Dead Man.

She found herself stepping forwards and into the room. Part of her didn't want to accept that it could have been Ravel who had been dragged off. Someone like him wouldn't go without a fight. It would take more than a few men to beat him. No. He couldn't be gone. They'd already lost so many people. But Ravel the first one she really knew. Ghastly was safe and Tanith was on her way out. That only left Ravel and Skulduggery. There were a few others she knew but none of them were her friends. Not really. That, she reckoned, was what had made it okay, walking through the Sanctuary full of the dead. She hadn't known them.

Ravel's room was in ruins. Tables were destroyed beyond repair. Bits of wood and broken glass were strewn across the floor. Objects, unrecognisable and broken, lay battered around her. The tasteful and elegant light-fittings were hanging from the ceiling by a wire. The bulbs smashed and cracked. Scorch marks and bullet holes peppered the walls all around her. There was no sign of Ravel. Two dead mages, one sprawled against a desk another lying face down in a pool of his own blood, but neither were Ravel. Valkyrie looked at the second man, glad that he was lying face down. At least she couldn't see whatever was causing the blood to pool around him, though she had a fair idea. Cleaver's didn't play with their food. They were precise and deadly.

The chances that Ravel might still be alive were slim at best. Valkyrie knew that, she'd seen the state of the Sanctuary. But if anyone was going to get out it was him. Cleavers would sooner die that let the Grand Mage be captured and she hadn't seen any bodies clad in grey. That didn't mean they had died somewhere else. But it at least meant they'd got out of the room. That was something. With one last glance around the room Valkyrie left, bottling up the pain and the fear. It could wait. It had to.

Valkyrie didn't look back as she hurried away from Ravel's room. She couldn't. She knew if she did she'd waste more time focusing on what might have happened to him. It was a harsh, cold truth that made her hate that part of her which pushed her onwards but it needed to be done. There was no getting around it. Later. It could happen later. The pain. The grief. Everything. It could all wait.

More bodies greeted her as she rounded the corner. She was close now, she knew it. Though, she'd never once been to Madam Mist's room, finding the idea far too creepy, she knew where it was. She had seen Ravel leaving it when he had needed to fetch a report from her, something about Nye. The veiled woman was the one who had bought it to the Sanctuary. Back when Nye had only just become the Sanctuary's doctor Ravel had demanded weekly progress reports. Unlike the rest of his reports these were ones he actually read.

Though, even if Valkyrie hadn't known which it was she had a feeling that she would have been able to guess. It was the one with all the bodies outside. Three mages lay there, bones broken and one of them had had his neck snapped. Slowly Valkyrie approached the bodies, hunkering down, checking their pulses. Two alive, one dead. Taking a deep, steadying breath Valkyrie rose from the ground, her back against the wall. This wasn't right. These people deserved pay, sure, but not like this. He had to be stopped. Taking a firm grip on the gun Valkyrie swung around the door frame and entered the room.

Valkyrie swung her arm around, as Skulduggery had shown her, checking the corners of the only lit room in the Sanctuary. It was in tatters, the sign of fighting were clear. Tables were smashed, chairs in bits, a lamp had been hurled and lay at Valkyrie's feet when she entered. She kicked the door she shut behind her, keeping Skulduggery's gun at the ready. But there was no fighting now, just voices, voices she hadn't heard when she had been outside. The room must have some kind of magical symbol or seal protecting, like the Vault. Skulduggery had already dealt with the locking seal but the sound seal was still in place.

Ducking low Valkyrie continued through the first room, heading for the sound of voices, not raised but normal, like they were having a conversation. As she neared she recognised them both, making out only a few words, nothing that made any sense. Mist was talking again. Just talking. Not shouting or threatening. But instead she was calm, collected. This wasn't right but as Valkyrie approached the door she found out why.

Mist had her back to her and was facing the far wall, her voice level and almost bored as she looked at the man on the floor. White spiders crawled along the floor, away from the fallen man. His suit ripped and frayed. The shirt he wore torn and the hat that usually sat on his head was gone. By his side lay a fallen Cleaver's scythe, he'd probably picked it up on the way here in place of his gun. Next to the scythe lay an arm. Fully clad in a shirt and suit sleeve, a black glove covering the fingers. The false face had long since melted away. Leaving only his skull in its place.

Skulduggery looked up at Mist and Valkyrie was sure if he had a face he would be glaring through the blue force-field around him. Symbols, etched deep into the dark wood floor, glowed and pulsed all around him. His eyeless gaze stayed fixed on Mist as she began pacing in front of him. Gently she set down Skulduggery phone on the only desk that was broken or burnt.

"Reinforcements are on their way." She told Skulduggery as crept nearer trying to be as soundless as possible. "No doubt they will through in a cell. But I must say that I am surprised you would come alone. Where is the girl I wonder?"

Skulduggery didn't answer and Mist let out a small, humourless laugh as she strode towards him kicking aside the arm that he had been reaching for.

"You do not know, do you, skeleton?" Mist asked, the white spiders crawling up her black robes and into the sleeves. Valkyrie had seen the Torment use the same trick, spewing out spiders from his mouth. "You lost her in the dark. I wonder if she will survive."

"A few warlocks aren't going to stop her."

"You may well be right," Mist said, turning away from him causing Valkyrie to duck back behind the wall, keeping out of sight. "She may well stand against my White Cleaver and live. It is unlikely but irrelevant."

"Irrelevant?" Skulduggery demanded his voice filled with a sudden, unbridled anger. "Valkyrie is not irrelevant."

"But she is," Mist countered, facing him again. "Don't you see, Detective? We have taken your precious Sanctuary. In fact, as we speak, my men are already fortifying against what little remains of your friends. If they try to take this place they will die. They have no allies in this world. The Germans. The Americans. They all want to take over. You are alone. We are in control now."

"But why?" Skulduggery asked. "Why the pretence and the lies?"

"Do you think I would have been able to take you down if I had not been one of you?" Mist asked her head tilting as she looked down at Skulduggery. "We have waited far too long. I took it upon myself to accelerate our plan. I had a golden opportunity. The mortals have thrived for too long. We deserve to take our rightful place."

"You're insane!"

"No. I merely have a different view of the world."

"So that's what it's all been for," Skulduggery said, propping himself up with the only arm he had left, the distain clear in his voice. "Getting the Sanctuary here, being an Elder. You and your little bunch of sycophants want to reveal magic to the world. That's what this war between Sanctuaries is about."

"That was your doing," Mist pointed out. "Not mine."

"Maybe." Skulduggery agreed. "But you made sure it would happen. Over the last few years Roarhaven mages have met with dozens of people from Sanctuaries all over the world. One by one all the people who want to stop any war and can were removed from play. You want us to fight amongst ourselves and then take power once we've slaughtered each other."

"I can see why Ravel places so much faith in you, Detective." Mist told him. "You are a dangerous man."

"I like to think so."

"Yet you are so easily manipulated. All I had to do was place Sorrows in your grasp and you came running. Now your partner is dead, my White Cleaver saw to that." Valkyrie could hear the sick little smile in her voice as she approached Skulduggery, her voice lowering to a whisper as the veiled face leant in close, the blue barrier filling the space between them. "You are pathetic."

Valkyrie felt her fists curling, the grip on the gun tightening. Blood pounded in her ears. Her heart racing as fury boiled up inside her. She wanted to slap that smile, the one that she knew lay under that veil, off Mist's face. But she stayed where she was, hidden in the shadows. It was an impulse, that's all it was, the dark part of her, the part that wanted nothing more than to show Mist just what she could throw at the White Cleaver. But giving in would mean revealing herself and she wasn't going to do that until the odds were well and truly in her favour.

"I'm going to have to disagree," Skulduggery retorted. "But, that aside, I do have one question. There is one thing that I don't understand." Mist stayed silent, looking at him expectantly, refusing to talk to him unless she had to. "Why drag us into this? Wasn't it part of your nefarious plot to keep us away?"

"Alive you are a potential threat."

"Fear. There's a reason you shouldn't have forgotten that fear. Do you know what it is?"

"No," Mist replied, shaking her head making it clear that she didn't care either.

"I'm going to tell you anyway," Skulduggery told her, his hand continuing towards the edge of the blue cage that kept him trapped, closer and closer to one of the carefully carved symbols. Valkyrie had no idea which symbol was the cancelation one but Skulduggery, though nowhere near as gifted with the symbols as China, knew some of them. If he was about to do what she thought he was going to do, Mist didn't have a clue what was about to hit her. "It is this: that when I get out of this cage, and believe me I will get out, I'm going to kill you."

"Is that supposed to scare me?"

"It is," Skulduggery said, keeping his eyes fixed on Mist, making sure that she kept talking as he moved his hand yet closer.

But there was something else going on. Underneath Skulduggery's voice there was another sound. It was something that Valkyrie hadn't noticed, she had been too engrossed in the scene before her that she hadn't heard the door open behind her, nor had she been aware of the soft, creeping footsteps. But she did feel the air shift, a tiny ripple a few feet behind her. Cursing, her eyes wide, her heart pounding, she spun, bringing the gun up. Ready to fire. A boot met her hand. The gun went off, the bullet hitting the far wall as the gun scattered away.

Mist whirled around, apparently lost for words as she looked at Valkyrie, who in her mind, should be lying dead somewhere dead in the Sanctuary. Valkyrie ignored her, instead lashing out with a kick at the man who had attacked her sending him staggering back, eyes wide behind his horn-rimmed glasses. But she didn't stop there. The air rippled. The man shot off his feet, skidding along the floor, coming to a stop just in front of the now open doors.

More mages were spilling into the room as the hard floor around Skulduggery began tremble, a large crack jutting out from where his hand was resting, splitting the symbol nearest to it in half. The cage flashed, flickered and then died. Before Mist had time to even react to what her supposed prisoner had done he was lunging forwards, slamming his forehead into her face. Mist stumbled back but didn't go down.

But Valkyrie didn't see what happened next. She had problems of her own. The mage she had kicked was warily getting to his feet as his comrades charged at her. She snapped her palm at the air, sending the woman with blonde hair flying. But the man rolled and lunged for her. She ducked, responding a strike of her own. Her elbow met his jaw and she followed it up with a grab, hip throwing him to the floor, just as his friend hurled a ball crackling energy at her.

The impact sent her backwards, slamming into the wall like she had been hit by a truck. If it was for her clothes she was sure she would have broken something, a few ribs at the very least. But the experience was almost as painful, pain exploding in her torn side. She cried out, sending a stream of shadows out blindly, hoping to hit her attacker before he could follow it up with a kick.

There was a shriek. The sound of flesh hitting stone. A sickening crack. Looking up, Valkyrie saw the largest of the men, a true giant of a man, sprawled on the floor holding the arm that he had thrown out to break his fall and that was clearly broken. But Valkyrie wasn't allowed a single moment to celebrate her little victory. The man she had hip thrown to the floor was coming for her, a knife glinting in his gloved hand.

Valkyrie rolled to her feet, avoiding the boot of the knife-wielding man. She hissed, doing her best to ignore how her body screamed in protest, pain ripping again across the wound the White Cleaver had given her. She dodged to the left. Once. Twice. Getting out of the way of the bloodied blade. The man was grinning, obviously under the impression he had the advantage. He didn't.

Feinting left Valkyrie watched as he thrust that knife for a third time. She went right instead, batting the knife down, following it up with an elbow to the throat. There was strangled gurgle as he staggered backwards, trying to get some room, but Valkyrie pressed forwards. She duck under a blind swing and sent her palm into his jaw. The air rippled. His head snapped back, rattling his brain, knocking out with one quick slap. It wasn't exactly fighting fair but she didn't care.

Valkyrie turned away from the unconscious man just in time to see both the woman and the slight man with the glasses charging at her. She was able to parry the woman's fumbled attack but the man was fast, ducking under her fist, coming in close, his hand wrapping around her throat as she shoved her against the wall. Hard.

But it wasn't the strength of his attack that caused her to scream, nor was it her head slamming into the wall, though that made her vision blur and her world spin. It was his hand. The hand that was wrapped around her neck. It was burning into her, impossibly hot. It felt as though her skin was on fire, melting, peeling, bubbling as he pressed into her. There was no expression. His jaw was clenched, his violet eyes burning bright. But that was it.

It was too much. Valkyrie wanted to scream but she couldn't. Her voice was gone. But that didn't stop her trying, she was still screaming, even if they couldn't hear her. The agony ripped through her. She tried to prise his fingers off her but all her efforts did was to make him dig in harder, to make her suffering intensify. All she wanted was for it to stop. It had to stop. She could smell it now, her own flesh cooking, searing under the man's steel grip. It wasn't going to stop. It was never going to end.

But then a gunshot echoed through the room and the man cried out in pain, dropping Valkyrie as he crumpled, grabbing his leg as he howled. Skulduggery stood in the doorway, smoke rising from his gun. He switched targets, aiming for the blonde woman but a wave of white spiders crashed over him and his was thrown out of sight.

Valkyrie gasped, taking in deep, deep breaths. Out of pure instinct her hands went to her throat but there was nothing there to feel other than her neck. No burnt flesh. Nothing protruding from the skin that she knew should not be there. This was not right. It couldn't be. She had felt it. Felt her skin burn and her flesh melt under his hand. She should have passed out then, maybe even long before that, but something had stopped her and forced the pain to take hold. There was only one kind of adept that Valkyrie knew who could that. Skulduggery had told her about it. They planted images and feeling into someone's mind and let them live it, like a waking nightmare. It hadn't been real.

She felt herself laugh, relief crashing over her but the laugh died on her lips as she looked up, a wand pointed directly between her eyes. The blonde woman looked down at her, ice blue eyes filled with pure, malevolent hatred. Valkyrie froze, one hand still on her throat, the other on the floor, propping her upright. She stared. What the hell was a witch doing mixed up in all of this? How did a witch even know where the Sanctuary was? And why did she want to see it fall? Questions fell over each other in Valkyrie's head, demanding to be asked. But she remained silent, keeping her eyes fixed on the wand.

"This is for my husband, you bitch!" the woman cried, her voice cold, her eyes flashing as she drew back her wand. "Cru-"

But Valkyrie was already surging forwards, knocking the wand upwards. The jet of red light hit the ceiling, sending clouds of dust and small pieces of debris reigning down on Valkyrie she fought with the woman, both holding on to the wand. The woman grabbed a fistful of Valkyrie's hair and yanked. Valkyrie was pulled back but she didn't let go, instead smacking an elbow into her face. The woman spat and there was a noise like something bouncing along the floor. A few of her teeth. The hand that had been grabbing a fistful of Valkyrie's hair went to the woman's bloody mouth.

Valkyrie went for a lock, wrapping her leg around the woman's upper arm, pinning her down and then she wrenched. The woman's screams filled the room as the wand clattered to the floor. With her elbow broken there wasn't much she could do with the wand. Panting, Valkyrie got to her feet, looking down at the woman who could only really be one person. Ron had told her about her.

Narcissa Malfoy.

Narcissa's screams had died down but her hand continued to reach slowly for the fallen wand. Valkyrie wasn't about to take any chances and she wasn't in the mood to play nice. There was cry of pain mingled with fury as her boot came down on Narcissa's hand. Something crunched under her but Valkyrie didn't care. She had recognised the curse on the blonde woman's lips. The Cruciatus curse. It was one of the three Unforgivable curses and with good reason. It caused unimaginable pain. Apparently. Though Valkyrie thought she would be able to imagine it pretty vividly.

Ignoring the howl of pain from the fallen Malfoy Valkyrie snatched up the wand, making sure that Narcissa could see what she was about to do, before snapping it like a twig. There was a scream of rage, pure and unadulterated, Valkyrie just glared. It served Narcissa right. Her reason be attacking them understandable but what, perhaps was more worrying, was the fact that she had. Wizards shouldn't know about the Sanctuary. Something was wrong. But that was a problem that could be dealt with later.

Valkyrie had other matters on her hands. Skulduggery was going to need her help if the state of him last time was anything to go by. Mist wasn't going to give up easily either. But a groan from across the room made her turn away from the threshold she had been about to cross. The huge man had forced his arm back in place and was glaring at Valkyrie with pure hatred in his tiny eyes. Valkyrie heard herself sigh.

"Really?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him as he advanced on her in what he probably thought was a threatening manner. However, thanks to Valkyrie wild yet effective shadow stream, the man was walking with a limp, blood pouring down his leg from the deep gash in his thigh. It was not impressive. "You really want to do this? I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"I'm going to kill you, pathetic girl!"

"Have it your way."

The man's lip curled in a snarl but before he had a chance to charge Valkyrie had lashed out with a kick, her boot driving into his injured leg. His yells filled the room and he swung wildly. Her block wasn't enough to stop his huge fist. He caught the side of her head. Ringing, that was she could hear. Dazed she dodged back under another swing, shaking herself.

Swaying back, out of reach of another attack, she countered with a right hook that sent him stumbling. She pressed forwards, snapping an elbow into his ribs as his arms went shield his face. He threw out his hand, the air rippled but Valkyrie was already rolling away. She dove for him, taking out his legs and sending him to the floor.

Scrambling to her feet she reaching into her coat, feeling around for the shackles that she always kept there before cursing, the image of the shackled man further down the corridor coming to her mind as her fingers felt nothing but the Cloaking Sphere that she had long since forgotten about in all the commotion. Not that would be any good now. She looked down at the man who was still trying desperately to get to his feet, though he was having trouble with only two working limbs.

But as she stared down at him, trying to decide what to do with him, something made up her mind for her. A scream. A woman's scream, fuelled by pain and anguish. Mist. Valkyrie glanced at the door. She had to get in there. See what the hell was going on. Time was up. The man on the floor wasn't important. Not anymore.

"Stay." She ordered the man as he scrambled away from her, trying to find something that would help to his feet. His shouts and curses fell on deaf ears as Valkyrie turned and hurried away, the door only a few metres away. She jumped over Narcissa, who was now holding the shards of her wand in her trembling hands, and through the door.

But as soon as she entered that room she froze, her blood running cold. Mist was on her knees, blood glistening on her black robes that had been scorched and burnt since Valkyrie had last seen her. But that wasn't what made Valkyrie stop and state. It was the gun held against Mist's forehead. The hammer pulled back. A gloved finger ready in the trigger guard. Skulduggery's eyeless gaze was fixed on Mist. He had both his arms again. But only one was covered with a sleeve, the other was exposed, the sleeve of his jacket and shirt on the floor beside him.

"What if you're lying to me?" Skulduggery was asking as Valkyrie stared in horror at the scene that was unfolding before her eyes. She wanted to protest, to say something, but the words didn't form on her lips, her legs didn't move to rush her forwards. She just stayed there. Stunned. Staring. "Because you've done that before. You've lied." The gun came back and then down, slamming into Mist's face. "You've lied!" About everything, right from the beginning."

"But you suspected, didn't you?" Mist said with a small, humourless laugh. There was a taunt in her voice as she spoke, as though she wanted this, what was about to happen. "I couldn't fool you, the Great Skeleton Detective."

"Flattery won't save you." Skulduggery snapped a snarl behind his expressionless skull as he pressed the gun harder against her. "Do you know what you've done? All the people you've killed. All those people you made me think you'd killed. Erskine. Tanith."

"Cain."

"Yes." Skulduggery said something new in his voice, underneath all that anger and fury a kind of pain, sorrow, adding to the fire burning inside him. "But it's going to take more than that Cleaver kill Valkyrie."

"It was luck that spared her, nothing more."

"Something you don't share. Luck. It isn't going to save you. No-one is."

Valkyrie wasn't aware of shouting his name as she ran forwards watching, as if in slow-motion, as Skulduggery's finger twitched on the trigger. She expected the gunshot. She expected blood. But there was nothing. No explosion of sound. No cry of protest that she knew would escape her lips. There was just his voice, that velvet voice, saying her name. Confusion and shock over the top of the rage. But it still was there, in a vicious undertone. Still corrupting him as it had so long before. But that wasn't going to happen again. He wasn't going to give in. Not again. Not if she had anything to do with it.

"Don't kill her!" Valkyrie heard herself shout as she skidded to a halt at his side. "Not like this, Skulduggery, you can't."

"Why not?" Skulduggery demanded. "Why? She deserves it after what she's done. All those are dead because of her and what for? Power? Greed? Fear? No reason's good enough, Valkyrie. Not for what she did. Not for what she wanted to do. She deserves to die."

"It'd be murder."

"It'd be justice!"

"Then why don't you do it?" Mist asked her voice cold and harsh. Valkyrie felt her fists clench. This wasn't helping. She didn't care if Mist had a death wish or not. It was Skulduggery that mattered. Not her. "Commit, kill me."

Skulduggery said nothing, but he didn't take the gun away from her face either, he just stayed there like a statue. Stock still. Not moving. Not taking his gaze from her concealed face. He was conflicted. Something inside him was stopping him. Valkyrie didn't know what it was but Mist was about to push him over the edge. He was going to snap. If she didn't shut up she was going to get her wish, whether or not she really wanted it.

"Even now you're a coward. Disappointing."

"Shut up!" Valkyrie snapped sending a glare at Mist. There was a laugh but Valkyrie ignored her, turning away from her and back to her friend. "Skulduggery, we need her. We don't far this goes, who else is involved, she's the only one who does. If she dies then it's over."

"She tried to kill you."

"But I'm fine," Valkyrie said softly finally realising what had been that had made him want to kill her. That anger at China couldn't have burned that brightly for that long. There must have been something else. It had been her. Revenge for the friend that he thought he'd lost. "Look. Skulduggery, look at me, I'm fine."

Finally his head turned, turned away from Mist's veiled face and faced Valkyrie, his skull tilting slightly. Without his face Valkyrie's idea of what was going on inside his head was limited. But she thought she knew. At least, she hoped so, she couldn't afford to be wrong.

"Yes," Skulduggery nodded and something in his voice had changed. It had lost its harshness. He sounded more like himself. More like the Skulduggery she had been fighting to save. "You are." He turned back to Mist. This was it. Decision time. She prayed that she had gotten through to him. If she hadn't, well, she'd have to explain to Ghastly why she had blood all over the clothes he'd given her. More than that was already there at any rate.

"Madam Mist," Skulduggery began. "I am arresting you for murder, conspiracy to commit murder and treason. If they ever let you out it'll be too soon. Valkyrie, if you could do the honours?"

"I don't have any cuffs."

Skulduggery sighed before reaching to his tie with the hand that wasn't holding the gun. He unknotted it quickly before tossing it to Valkyrie. She let out a breath that she hadn't even known she had been holding. She couldn't believe it. It had actually worked. He wasn't going to do it. The fears that had been mounting up inside her seem to vanish as she caught the tie that Skulduggery threw her.

The silk was easy to tie and soon Mist was bound, Valkyrie tightening the bonds far rougher than was actually necessary but that didn't matter. It felt good.

Skulduggery was holding the phone that Mist had used to call in the reinforcements Valkyrie had dealt with earlier, with a little help from Skulduggery. Words were exchanged and then Skulduggery slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"They're sending in the Cleavers, the ones that weren't here when the attack happened. Ravel wants us to stay put but he reckons they'll be here within the hour."

"He's alive?"

"Yes," Skulduggery nodded. "Ghastly too, he's busy with Tanith, they've bought in a doctor to deal with her until we can get back to Nye. Though, Ravel seems to be under the impression that the White Cleaver is the one who saved Tanith."

"It's a long story."

"We've got time."

So she told him the story, told him everything that had happened to her deep in the belly of the deserted Sanctuary. Mist tried to protest but Skulduggery, clearly still not over his fit of rage, didn't hesitate to hit her hard in the face until she was too busy being unconscious to object. Valkyrie didn't care. She wasn't what mattered right now. She would later. But then, in that moment, all she cared about was Skulduggery and the fact that she hadn't been too late to stop him making a huge mistake. No matter how much he might have wanted to at the time when he had been blinded by rage and retribution.

It was finally over.


	20. Damage Control

_Chapter Nineteen: Damage Control_

_The man with the golden eyes stood and listened, though paying little attention to the actual words being spoken, as the men and women argued before him. It was a sight that he had been prepared for. Of course he had. He had prepared for everything. But it was one that had been sparked by an event that he greatly wished had not unfolded. Mist's reckless, and frankly uncharacteristic, actions had almost ruined everything. Impatience and incompetence had almost led to his downfall and, had he been a lesser man, it might have. As it was he had spent the last few hours assuring people, restoring confidences and, where necessary, wiping memories. It had been a tiring day and now he had to soothe his fellow conspirators._

_The trouble was that he couldn't stand more than a few of them, especially after the debacle at the Sanctuary. Mist's impromptu scheme had been the fruits of their impatience as much as it had been hers. They had been the ones to whisper and complain. It had been they who had lost faith in the plan. They had gone to her, sought her out, in fact. Then they told her their worries, assured her they had complete faith in her plans and her plots. In fact, they had told her that the sooner it happened, the better._

_But the man wanted, more than anything at this crucial point, to find the idiot, the imbecile, responsible for suggesting luring Cain and Pleasant into the trap. It was truly moronic idea, one that Mist would not be responsible for, though she would soon pay orchestrating it. That had been the error. It may, though the chances were slim, have worked. Mist's forces had successfully captured the Sanctuary, Ravel and Bespoke had fled. Perhaps they would have retaken their precious Sanctuary. Perhaps not. But without Cain and Pleasant there would have been a fight. A struggle. But instead there were arrests._

_The shouting was growing louder and louder, the man sighed and held up a hand. Almost instantly the quarrel died down, hushed whispers replacing the frantic shouts and accusations._

_"The damage," the man said slowly, his golden eyes resting on each of them individually as he spoke, trying to find the most likely candidate for the blunder. "Has been done. But we all agreed, when we started this, that there was no going back. We stick to the plan."_

_"Your plan has gotten us nowhere!" a woman with brown hair, streaked with grey, shrieked from the far end of the long table. "We still hide in the shadows for all your scheming!"_

_"We are still safe, are we not?" the man asked calmly from his position at the window. "All my plans and schemes, as you so eloquently put it, are there to ensure that the people in this room are above suspicion. Or would you prefer that I act rashly? Perhaps you would all like to be in a jail cell with Madam Mist." He stared at them for a moment, arching an eyebrow. Silence met his words. "I thought not."_

_"At least Mist proposed action," the same woman retorted. The man frowned at her, though not due to her words, more their underlying implication. Nobody had been so fervent in their defence of Mist than this woman. Perhaps, it was a guilty conscience hiding underneath a mask of self-serving arrogance and frustration. Yes. It was her. She had been the one to spark the blunder. He was sure of it. Looking into her brown eyes he could see it, the guilt, festering deep in her mind. Guilt for that moment when she suggested bringing Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain back into play. He'd set someone on it later. Grim Melody maybe. Not that he needed to. She was as guilty as sin. But Grim could use the work. "You propose that we hide."_

_"I merely advise knowing when to act." The man countered. "I prefer to know that the odds are in my favour. This coup failed for the simple reason that it was the wrong time to act. We will proceed with the original plan. Though, the scale has increased. I had originally estimated that one attack would be enough. But with this coup changes everything. The action that you crave will occur."_

_"What are you talking about?" the Englishman with glasses asked before the woman could speak again. "More councils? You can't be serious!"_

_"I am always serious," the man with the golden eyes said. "The world may be watching but they must first be involved before they will act. The tensions between the Supreme Council and Ireland are high, of that there is no doubt. But if Ireland succeeds in recovering from this coup, as I suspect that they will, then one attack will clearly not be enough. The Supreme Council must first have their interests threatened."_

_There was a stunned silence._

_Then silence broke and shouts took its place. Cries of support and of fear. The room, as they say, was split. The man let them argue amongst themselves. It was the plan. They had trusted him for this long. Once they realised that it was the only way they would accept it. It was still the original plan just on a grander scale. Ireland would fall. The Supreme Council would attack. The mortals would be caught in the middle. The secrets would be broken. Mages would no longer hide. In the current climate there was only so much could be kept secret. Wars were not one of those things._

_It took a few more hours to appease the men and women that had taken camp in the man's office. Fear was a powerful motivator. After all, self-preservation was one of man's keenest and most trusted instincts. He appealed to it, abused it, made them see that his course of action was in their best interest. Selfish, cruel and pity but above all true. No matter how many morals and ethics people like to hide behind the honest truth, the man knew from experience, was that most people would want to save their own skin more than anything._

_But eventually, with much deliberation and discussion, an outline of what would happen next had taken shape. Favours would be called in. People relied upon or removed before they became suspicious. It would work. The obstacles had been removed before the war had even begun._

_But even after all that time, all that talking, there was still someone who required dealing with. The man with the golden eyes made sure he was alone before he picked up the phone and dialled. She knew, of course. But, with everything that had been going on, he had been unable to deal with the potential outrage. After all, the reason that they waited was not, as he had said, out of caution and knowing when to act, it was for her. She wanted time. She wanted to wait. Then, and only then, would she give him her help._

_"Hello."_

_"Good evening," the man said. "You have my apologies for calling at such a late hour but it was unavoidable."_

_"Has it been dealt with?" she asked, ignoring his words, either not caring that she might offend him or simply not noticing._

_"Yes." The man answered, unscrewing the lid on the bottle he had been holding and pouring himself a glass of scotch as he spoke. "They were resistant at first but it was nothing that I couldn't handle. Though, Pleasant and Cain don't seem to be going anywhere. According to my sources they have taken rooms in the Sanctuary."_

_"But they are returning to the castle?"_

_"I believe so."_

_"Then that is all that matters. I still require more time."_

_"I am aware of that." The man said remembering all that he had done at the Sanctuary to get her the precious time that she needed. Nye had contacted him, as it had promised if Low presented any problems, anything that she remembered that could prove disastrous. Nye knew about Darquesse. The man, who had his suspicions for a long time before having them confirmed, knew what a danger that secret being divulged could be. It would force his plan to accelerate, something that he did not want. Timing was everything. But the matter had been dealt with. Cain's secret was safe and as long as it served his purpose it would remain so._

_"Then I see no problem," the voice on the end of the phone told him. "As long as you can assure me that there will be no more changes to the plan."_

_"I can." That was the difference, he knew. She would take him on his word. It would not take hours to console and regain her confidence. It had not been his error, after all, she could see that. Though, he had expected a flash of anger, something. But there was nothing. Her voice was as cool as ever. Collected. Calm. "Everything is in motion."_

_"Good."_

_And with that the phone went dead._

_The man set the phone down before he began to sip at his scotch. The bottle was placed away in his drawer, he wouldn't need it again that night. Everything was in play now. The wheels were turning. The plan in motion. All he had to do was wait and let the events that he had spent so long organising to unfold as planned. It would be beautiful to watch, he knew, but carnage for those involved._

* * *

**AN: There we have it, another chapter. Hope you guys like it. In response to Massacre's review, and anyone else who shared that view, that last chapter was not the end. There is much more to happen yet. Let me know what you guys think of this or any other chapter. And thanks again to everyone who reviews, faves and follows, you've been great support! **


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